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LTBEARY 

$kt*U%iiki  Seminary, 

PRINCETON,    X.  J 

No.  Case,-1SS!-:4.-: 

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BX  1765  ,P7  1854 
Plumer,  William  S.  180Z 

Rome  against  the  Bible 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/romeagainstbibleOOplum 


ROME  AGAINST  THE  BIBLE, 


BIBLE  AGAINST  ROME; 


OR, 


PHARISAISM,  JEWISH  AND  PAPAL. 


BY   WM.    S.    PLUMER,    D.D. 


"The  law  of  the  Lord  i3  perfect,  converting  the  soul." — Ps.  xix.  7. 
"  Ye  have  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge."— Luke  xi.  52. 


jpljilaitrlpjjia : 

AMERICAN    BAPTIST    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY, 

IIS    ARCH    STREET. 


Entered   according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by  the 

AMERICAN   BAPTIST   PUBLICATION7    SOCIETY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in 
and  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


STEREOTYPIC!)    BY   GEORGE   CHARLES. 
PRINTED    BY    KING   &   BAIRD. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Pharisaism  among  the  Jews — how  it  kept  the 
People  in  ignorance  of  God's  Word 5 

CHAPTER  II. 

Papists  practise  the  Arts  of  their  Jewish 
forerunners,  and  with  like  effects, 25 

'     CHAPTER  III. 

Papists  go  beyond  the  Pharisees,  and  are  hos- 
tile to  the  free  use  and  general  circulation 
of  God's  Word, 46 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Same  subject   continued — Additional   Proofs,     62 

CHAPTER  V. 

This  opposition  is  unreasonable  and  unscrip- 

TURAL, 78 

CHAPTER  VI. 

It  is  condemned  by  the  voice  of  Antiquity,.     98 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Conclusion.  Address  to  Romish  Priests,  to 
Private    Members   of    the  Romish   Church, 

and  to  Protestants, 112 

13) 


CHAPTER  I. 

PHARISAISM  AMONG  THE  JEWS HOW  IT  KEPT  THE  PEO- 
PLE IN  IGNORANCE  OF  GOD'S  WORD. 

In  the  days  of  his  flesh,  Jesus  Christ  charged 
upon  the  expounders  of  the  Mosaic  institute,  that 
they  had  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge.  They 
deprived  the  people  of  the  means  of  attaining  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Sound  knowledge  is  a  key  to  unlock  the  myste- 
ries of  redemption.  Without  it  no  man  can  effect 
an  entrance  into  life.  "  Where  there  is  no  vision, 
the  people  perish."  So  important  is  divine  know- 
ledge that  by  a  figure  of  speech  it  is  often  put 
for  the  whole  of  religion.  The  great  duty  of  all 
religious  teachers  is  to  make  known  the  truths  of 
revelation,  to  open  and  explain  the  Scriptures. 
Thus  men  are  led  to  understand,  love  and  prac- 
tise the  will  of  God  revealed  for  their  salvation. 

Yet  in  every  age  many  slight  or  omit  the  duties 
of  their  office ;  while  others  turn  light  into  dark- 
ness. They  even  obstruct  the  way  of  life.  They 
practise  all  the  arts  of  deception.  With  a  pre- 
tended reverence  for  God's  word,  they  neither 
1*  (5) 


6  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

love  nor  obey  it,  nor  wish  nor  encourage  others 
to  do  so. 

Thus  it  was  with  many  in  our  Saviour's  day. 
The  Pharisees  were  the  leaders  in  this  system  of 
perversion.  With  their  scribes  and  lawyers  they 
were  prepared  for  any  deed  of  hypocrisy  and 
wickedness.     Let  us  look  at  their  errors. 

One  of  them  respected  the  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.  They  held  that  it  consisted  not  only  of 
the  written,  but  also  of  the  unwritten  word.  Not 
Scripture  alone,  but  Scripture  and  tradition  united 
formed  their  canon.  The  five  books  of  Moses 
and  all  the  canonical  Scriptures  were  received ; 
so  also  was  a  mass  of  corruptions  called  the  oral 
law.  Whenever  a  conflict  arose  between  the 
written  word  and  tradition,  the  latter  always  bore 
away  the  palm  of  victory.  The  lawyers  held  that 
their  traditions  were  as  truly  God's  word  as  the 
sacred  writings,  and  that  the  officers  of  the  Jewish 
nation  were  appointed  to  transmit  the  oral  law 
from  generation  to  generation.  And  they  pre- 
tended to  show  a  list  of  those  through  whom,  in 
unbroken  succession,  they  had  received  these  tra- 
ditions. This  list  began  with  Moses  ;  then  came 
Joshua,  the  seventy  elders,  the  prophets,  the  rab- 
bies,  &c.  They  held  that  these  traditions  had  no 
less  authority  than  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and 
that  the  written  law  could  not  be  well  understood 


PHARISAISM    AMONG    THE    JEWS.  7 

without  the  oral.  So  they  were  "  exceedingly 
zealous  of  the  traditions  of  the  fathers,"  and  re- 
garded all,  who  forsook  them,  as  forsaking  Moses 
and  God  himself.  Thus  by  adopting  maxims  and 
sentiments  never  sanctioned  by  Heaven,  they 
"made  the  commandment  of  God  of  none  effect 
by  their  tradition." 

These  doctors  had  also  their  Apocrypha,  which 
they  put  side  by  side  with  God's  word.  This 
consisted  of  the  writings  of  ancient  uninspired 
Rabbies.  Thus  they  held  that  the  Targum  of 
Jonathan  had  "been  received  from  the  mouths  of 
Haggai  and  Malachi,  which  two  prophets  were 
keepers  of  the  oral  law  in  the  consistory  of  Ezra." 
Thus  they  had  a  part  of  the  oral  law  in  writing, 
as  well  as  much  still  handed  down  by  unwritten 
tradition. 

They  also  greatly  erred  respecting  the  interpre- 
tation of  Scripture.  They  held  that  not  the  text, 
but  the  living  teacher  was  the  sure  guide.  The 
great  question  between  them  and  Christ,  respected 
the  interpretation  of  God's  word.  He  contended 
for  the  plain  declarations  of  Moses  and  the  pro- 
phets, for  the  obvious,  grammatical  sense  of  the 
inspired  writers.  They  insisted  that  God's  word 
was  to  be  understood  according  to  the  Talmuds 
and  Targums,  (the  Mishnas  and  Gemaras,)  the 
agreement  of  the  Rabbies  and  the  decisions  of 


8         •  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

the  Great  Council,  as  expounded  by  the  living 
teacher.  In  the  Talmud  it  is  said  we  "must 
attend  more  to  the  words  of  the  Scribes  than  to 
those  of  the  law."  The  lawyers  claimed  prece- 
dence of  the  prophets.  The  former  held  that  the 
latter  must  work  miracles,  or  give  infallible  signs 
of  their  heavenly  mission  ;  but  that  a  Rabbi  was 
to  be  believed  without  any  miracle.  In  proof 
they  quoted  Deut.  xvii.  12.  "  The  man  that  will 
do  presumptuously,  and  will  not  hearken  unto  the 
priest  that  standeth  to  minister  there  before  the 
Lord  thy  God,  or  unto  the  judge,  that  man  shall 
die."  One  of  their  rules  was  that  "  if  a  thousand 
such  prophets  as  Elias  and  Elisha  bring  one  inter- 
pretation, and  a  thousand  and  one,  a  contrary, 
we  must  incline  to  the  interpretation  which  has  a 
majority  of  one,  and  take  the  Rabbles,  rather  than 
the  prophets."  Josephus,  himself  a  Pharisee, 
says,  that  "the  Pharisees  held  it  necessary  to 
observe  and  contend  for  everything,  which  their 
guide  commands."  Here  we  have  the  clue  to  the 
right  understanding  of  those  sayings  of  Christ : 
"  Be  ye  not  called  Rabbi :  for  one  is  your  Master, 
even  Christ ;  and  all  ye  are  brethren.  And  call 
no  man  your  father  upon  earth  :  for  one  is  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Neither  be  ye  called 
masters:  for  one  is  your  Master,  even  Christ." 
Matt,    xxiii.    8 — 10.     The   meaning   plainly   is, 


PHARISAISM    AMONG    THE    JEWS.  9 

1 never  seek  to  have  dominion  over  men's  faith,  nor 
permit  men  to  have  dominion  over  your  faith.' 
We  must  receive  our  doctrine  from  the  Father 
and  the  Son.  No  man  has  original  knowledge  in 
the  things  of  God.  The  Scriptures  must  teach 
us.  All  mere  men  are  fallible,  and  so  cannot  be 
implicitly  trusted.     God  alone  is  great. 

In  coincidence  with  the  foregoing,  these  an- 
cient errorists  denied  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment. When  the  officers,  who  had  been  sent  to 
apprehend  Christ,  returned  without  him,  they 
assigned  as  a  reason  the  great  power  of  his 
speech  and  teaching  :  "  Never  man  spake  as  this 
man."  To  this  the  Jewish  authorities  replied 
with  an  air  of  triumph,  "  Have  any  of  the 
rulers  believed  on  him  ?"  They  added,  that 
the  masses  of  the  people,  who  seemed  inclined 
to  hear  Christ,  were  no  judges  in  religious  mat- 
ters. "  This  people  that  knoweth  not  the  law 
are  cursed."  John  vii.  48,  49.  The  rulers,  the 
guides,  the  Rabbies,  were  to  be  followed ;  but 
the  people  were  ignorant,  and  to  be  despised  of 
men  as  they  were  cursed  of  God. 

All  these  men  stood  quite  aloof  from  the 
people.  The  word  Pharisee  means  Separatist. 
It  designated  one  who  withdrew  from  familiar 
intercourse  with  the  body  of  the  people.  The 
whole  sect  was  exclusive  and  ready  to  curse  the 


10  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

rest  of  mankind.  Their  favorite  maxim  was, 
that  out  of  their  communion,  and  aside  from  their 
teachings,  there  was  no  salvation,  but  that  all 
others  belonged  to  a  vile  herd,  made  up  of  pub- 
licans and  sinners,  dogs  and  cursed.  They  were 
highly  offended  even  at  the  offer  of  life  to  others. 
Paul  says  :  "  They  were  contrary  to  all  men  :  for- 
bidding us  to  speak  to  the  Gentiles,  that  they 
might  be  saved,  to  fill  up  their  sins  alway ;  for 
the  wrath  is  come  upon  them  to  the  uttermost." 
1  Thess.  ii.  15,  16. 

Moses  and  the  prophets  taught  no  doctrine 
contrary  to  the  belief,  that  a  penitent  sinner  of 
any  nation  might  be  saved.  Yet  so  deeply  im- 
pressed on  the  Jewish  mind  was  the  idea,  that 
salvation  was  exclusively  for  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham, that  nothing  but  a  revelation  could  bring 
Peter  to  say  :  "  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is 
no  respecter  of  persons  :  but  in  every  nation,  he 
that  feareth  him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is 
accepted  with  him."  Acts  x.  34,  35.  This  is  the 
more  remarkable,  as  the  Old  Testament  frequently 
uses  such  language  as  this :  "  I  will  confess  to 
thee  among  the  Gentiles,  and  sing  unto  thy 
name.  And  again  he  saith,  Rejoice,  ye  Gentiles, 
with  his  people.  And  again,  Praise  the  Lord, 
all  ye  Gentiles,  and  laud  him,  all  ye  people." 
Rom.  xv.  9-11.     "Behold  my  servant,  whom  I 


PHARISAISM    AMONG    THE    JEWS.  11 

have  chosen ;  my  beloved,  in  whom  my  soul  is 
well  pleased :  I  will  put  my  spirit  upon  him,  and 
he  shall  show  judgment  to  the  Gentiles  ....  And 
in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  trust."  Matt.  xii. 
18,  21.  It  was  only  as  Jews,  like  Simeon,  wTere 
taught  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  they  clearly  saw 
that  Messiah  was  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  glory  of  the  people 
Israel.  Luke  ii.  32. 

It  also  evinced  the  capricious  state  of  the 
minds  of  the  Scribes  and  Lawyers,  when  they 
declared  against  Christ,  on  the  ground  that  no 
prophet  arose  out  of  Galilee.  The  same  people 
had  all  admitted  Jonah,  who  was  of  Galilee,  to 
be  a  true  prophet  of  Jehovah.  Nazareth  was  an 
obscure  place,  and  bore  a  bad  name,  and  because 
Jesus  had  resided  there  a  part  of  his  life,  they 
rejected  this  greatest  of  teachers.  Jesus  Christ 
belonged  not  to  their  company,  followed  not  their 
teachings,  and  joined  not  himself  to  their  assem- 
bly ;  therefore,  they  rejected  him,  called  him  a 
glutton  and  a  wine-bibber,  'this  fellow,' Beelzebub 
and  a  blasphemer. 

It  is  not  surprising,  that  with  such  a  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  and  with  such  modes  of  inter- 
pretation, these  people  embraced  the  doctrine, 
and  trusted  in  the  efficacy  of  the  intercession  of 
saints.     In  the  book  of  Tobit,  chap.  xii.  12,  15, 


12  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIELE. 

an  angel  is  brought  in,  saying:  "When  thou 
didst  pray,  and  Sarah,  thy  daughter-in-law,  I  did 
bring  the  remembrance  of  your  prayers  before 
the  Holy  One.  I  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven 
holy  angels,  which  present  the  prayers  of  the 
saints,  and  which  go  in  and  out  before  the  glory 
of  the  Holy  One."  How  long  before  this  time 
the  belief  of  the  efficacy  of  the  prayers  of  saints 
began  to  prevail  is  not  clear.  It  is,  however,  cer- 
tain, that  it  received  no  countenance  from  the 
holy  Scriptures.  It  continued  to  be  held,  more 
or  less  by  the  Pharisees,  for  a  long  time  after  the 
days  of  Tobit. 

In  like  manner  they  prayed  for  the  dead,  as 
you  may  see  in  2  Maccabees,  xii.  39-45,  where 
we  are  told  that  "Judas  and  his  company  came 
to  take  up  the  bodies  of  them  (their  brethren) 
that  were  slain,  and  to  bury  them  with  their  kins- 
men in  their  fathers'  graves.  ~Now,  under  the 
coats  of  every  one  that  was  slain,  they  found 
things  consecrated  to  the  idols  of  the  Jamnites, 
which  is  forbidden  the  Jews  by  the  law.  Then 
every  man  saw  that  this  was  the  cause  wherefore 
they  were  slain.  All  men  therefore  praising  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  who  had  opened  the 
things  that  were  hid,  betook  themselves  unto 
prayer,  and  besought  him  that  the  sin  committed 
might  wholly  be  put  out  of  remembrance.     Be- 


PHARISAISM   AMONG    THE    JEWS.  13 

sides,  that  noble  Judas  exhorted  the  people  to 
keep  themselves  from  sin,  forasmuch  as  they  saw 
before  their  eyes  the  things  that  came  to  pass  for 
the  sins  of  those  that  were  slain.  And  when  he 
had  made  a  gathering  throughout  the  company, 
to  the  sum  of  two  thousand  drachms  of  silver,  he 
sent  it  to  Jerusalem  to  offer  a  sin-offering,  doing 
therein  very  well  and  honestly,  in  that  he  "was 
mindful  of  the  resurrection :  for  if  he  had  not 
hoped  that  they  that  were  slain  should  have  risen 
again,  it  had  been  superfluous  and  vain  to  pray 
for  the  dead.  And  also  in  that  he  perceived  that 
there  was  great  favor  laid  up  for  those  that  died 
godly.  (It  was  a  holy  and  good  thought.) 
Whereupon  he  made  a  reconciliation  for  the 
dead,  that  they  might  be  delivered  from  sin." 
This  is  the  first  instance  of  the  use  of  prayers  for 
the  dead,  of  which  we  have  any  record.  But  the 
practice  is  very  agreeable  to  the  natural  darkened 
reason,  and  sinful  affections  of  men.  It  was  com- 
mon among  the  Pharisees  just  in  proportion  as 
they  fell  into  general  corruption. 

The  same  teachers  were  very  corrupt  casuists. 
They  strained  at  a  gnat,  but  swallowed  a  camel. 
They  would  not  admit  Judas 's  thirty  pieces  of 
silver  into  the  treasury,  because  it  was  the  price 
of  blood ;  yet  they  did  not  hesitate  to  pay  that 
sum  to  the  traitor  in  order  to  secure  the  shedding 


14  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

of  innocent  blood.  They  scrupled  to  enter  the 
judgment  hall  lest  they  should  be  denied;  yet 
they  denied  the  Holy  One,  and  the  Just,  and  de- 
sired a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto  them,  and 
killed  the  Prince  of  Life.  They  were  very  zealous 
about  a  mote  in  the  eye  of  another,  but  perceived 
not  the  beam  in  their  own  eye.  They  held  it 
very  obligatory  to  pay  tithes  of  rue,  mint,  anise, 
cummin,  and  all  herbs  and  fruits  ;  yet  it  was  quite 
consistent  with  their  principles  to  rob  widows' 
houses.  Their  law  forbade  them  to  kill ;  but  they 
said  it  was  not  wicked  to  indulge  the  most  vio- 
lent anger.  They  said  it  was  wicked  in  common 
conversation  to  swear  by  God ;  but  not  sinful  to 
swear  by  heaven.  They  held  that  to  meditate 
wrong  and  desire  to  do  it,  without  accomplishing 
it,  was  no  sin.  Thus  Josephus  in  a  given  case 
says  that  Antiochus  Epiphanes  "  deserved  no  pu- 
nishment for  what  he  only  would  have  done,  but 
did  not."  And  Kimchi,  commenting  on  Ps.  lxvi : 
18,  "If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord 
will  not  hear  me,"  says  :  "  He  will  not  impute  it 
to  me  for  sin ;  for  God  does  not  look  upon  an 
evil  thought  as  sin,  unless  it  be  conceived  against 
God,  or  religion."  How  different  this  is  from 
God's  sentence,  where  he  pronounces  '<  every  ima- 
gination of  the  thoughts  of  the  heart  only  evil 
continually."     Gen.  vi :  5.     Their  law  clearly  re- 


PHARISAISM    AMONG    THE    JEWS.  15 

quired  them  to  love  their  neighbor.  This  they 
expounded  by  adding  these  words,  "  and  hate 
thine  enemy."  They  were  required  to  honor 
their  father  and  mother ;  but  they  decided  that  if 
a  child  devoted  to  religious  use  any  thing,  by 
which  a  parent  might  be  profited,  the  fifth  com- 
mandment was  not  of  force  against  him.  Their 
rule  was,  that  "vows  take  place,  even  in  things 
commanded  by  the  law,  as  well  as  in  things  indif- 
ferent :  and  then  any  one  is  bound  by  them,  that 
he  cannot,  without  great  sin,  do  that  which  is 
commanded." 

Thus  the  more  these  people  were  given  to  their 
false  religion,  the  more  corrupt  they  were  in  mo- 
rals. Their  law  forbade  them  to  use,  or  make 
any  likeness  of  any  thing  in  religious  worship. 
This  was  undeniable.  Their  solution  of  the  dif- 
ficulty was,  that  to  worship  an  idol  was  sin,  but 
that  it  was  permitted  to  worship  God  by  means 
of  an  image. 

They  were  also  strict  ritualists.  They  were 
very  precise  respecting  attire,  gestures  and  punc- 
tilios in  worship.  There  was  hardly  any  end  to 
their  washings  of  hands.  One  of  their  sayings 
was,  that  "Whosoever  despiseth  the  washing  of 
hands  is  worthy  to  be  excommunicated ;  he  comes 
to  poverty,  and  will  be  extirpated  out  of  the 
world."     Another  of  their  sayings  made  eating 


16  ROME    AGAINST    THE   BIBLE. 

bread  with  unwashen  hands  as  bad  as  the  grossest 
violation  of  the  seventh  commandment.  Maimo- 
nides  says,  that  "the  religious  of  old  did  eat  their 
common  food  in  cleanness,  and  took  care  to  avoid 
all  uncleanness  all  their  days,  and  they  were  called 
Pharisees ;  and  this  is  a  matter  of  the  highest 
sanctity,  and  the  way  of  the  highest  religion ; 
namely,  that  a  man  separate  himself,  and  go  aside 
from  the  vulgar,  and  that  he  neither  touch  them, 
nor  eat,  or  drink  with  them  ;  for  such  separation 
conduces  to  the  purity  of  the  body  from  evil  works, 
the  purity  of  the  body  conduces  to  the  cleansing 
of  the  soul  from  evil  affections,  and  the  sanctity 
of  the  soul  conduces  to  the  likeness  of  God." 
Accordingly  it  came  to  be  said  among  them  that 
"Whosoever  has  his  seat  in  the  land  of  Israel, 
and  eats  his  common  food  in  cleanness,  and 
speaks  the  holy  language,  and  recites  his  phylac- 
teries morning  and  evening,  let  him  be  confident 
that  he  shall  obtain  the  life  of  the  world  to  come." 
To  such  a  people  Christ  could  have  said  no- 
thing more  offensive  than  that  "to  eat  with  un- 
washen hands  defileth  not  a  man."  Matt.  xv.  20. 
They  tell  us  that  one  of  their  number,  R.  Aquiba 
being  in  prison,  and  not  having  water  enough  to 
drink  and  to  wash  his  hands  also,  chose  to  do  the 
latter,  saying,  "It  is  better  to  die  of  thirst  than 
transgress  the  tradition  of  the  elders."     Among 


PHARISAISM    AMONG    THE    JEWS.  17 

them  such  a  man  was  held  in  great  veneration  for 
sanctity.  In  their  eyes  his  virtue  was  of  a  very 
exalted  character. 

From  such  persons  you  would  naturally  expect 
much  ostentation.     They  wore  long  garments  to 
give  them  a  solemn  air.     They  made  broad  their 
phylacteries,    which  were   pieces    of    parchment 
with  portions  of   Scripture  written  upon  them. 
One  of  the  Targums  introduces  the  Jews,  saying, 
"  I  am  chosen  above  all  people,  because  I  bind 
my  frontals  to  my  head  and  my  left  hand,  and  my 
parchment  is  fixed  to  the  right  side  of  my  door, 
so  that  a  third  part  of  it  comes  up  to  my  bed, 
that  the  evil  spirits  may  not  hurt  me."   They  dis- 
figured their  faces,  that  they  might  appear  unto 
men  to  fast.     They  well  understood  the  whole 
art  and  mystery  of  sanctimonious  grimaces.     In 
that   business   there  has   been   no  improvement 
since  their  time.     When  they  were  about  to  give 
alms  they  blew  a  trumpet  that  it  might  be  known 
what  they  were  doing.     They  also  went  to  the 
corners  of  the  streets,  to  the  synagogues,  and  to 
other  public  places  to  offer  up  their  personal  de- 
votions.    All  this  and  much  more  they  did  to  be 
seen  of  men.     For  a  pretence  they  made  long 
prayers.     Some  of  them  prayed  three  long  hours 
together.    They  used  vain  repetitions,  and  thought 
they  should  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking. 
2* 


18  HOME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

Their  religion  was  all  for  show.  To  worship 
God  where  none  but  God  was  witness  was  to 
them  a  dull,  uninteresting  employment. 

Such  persons  were  swollen  with  spiritual  pride. 
Even  their  prayers  were  full  of  vain-glory. 
11  God,  I  thank  thee,  that  I  am  not  as  other  men 
are,  extortioners,  unjust,  adulterers,  or  even  as 
this  publican.  I  fast  twice  in  the  week.  I  give 
tithes  of  all  that  I  possess."  This  was  a  model 
prayer  for  a  Pharisee.  It  made  him  feel  good. 
One  of  their  converts  was  more  self-conceited  and 
every  way  more  wicked  than  before  he  fell  under 
their  influence  ;  and  that  just  in  proportion  as  he 
was  zealous  in  their  cause.  They  "compassed 
sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte,  and  when  he 
was  made,  they  made  him  two-fold  more  the  child 
of  hell  than  themselves."  Justin  Martyr  says,  that 
these  "  proselytes  did  not  only  disbelieve  Christ's 
doctrine,  but  were  twice  more  blasphemous 
against  him  than  the  Jews  themselves,  endea- 
voring to  torment  the  Christians,  and  cut  them 
off  wherever  they  could.  In  this  they  were  the 
instruments  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees."  They 
seem  to  have  brought  all  the  brutality  and  mali- 
ciousness of  heathenism  into  their  profession  of 
Judaism.     They  were  monsters  of  depravity. 

The  system  of  the  Pharisees  was  also  full  of 
ridiculous  legends  and  degrading   superstitions. 


PHARISAISM    AMONG    THE    JEWS.  19 

Old  wives'  fables,  endless  genealogies  and  foolish 
questions  took  the  place  of  solemn  inquiries  after 
truth.  A  question  deemed  worthy  of  earnest 
discussion  among  them  was  this — Is  it  lawful  to 
kill  a  flea  on  the  Sabbath  day  ?  They  supersti- 
tiously  regarded  it  wicked  for  Christ  to  work  his 
miracles  of  healing  on  that  day  ;  or  for  him  and 
his  disciples  to  pluck  and  eat  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  even  if  hungry,  on  that  day.  They  in- 
vented endless  and  foolish  distinctions.  They 
threw  away  the  kernel,  but  held  fast  the  shell. 
They  cast  away  the  wheat  and  garnered  up  the 
chaff.  The  gravest  questions  in  religion  were 
little  cared  for;  but  those,  which  were  con- 
temptibly frivolous,  were  much  dwelt  upon. 

Respecting  justification  before  God  their  sys- 
tem was  utterly  false  and  dangerous.  They  put 
the  types  in  the  place  of  the  great  anti-type ;  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  goats  in  the  place  of  the 
blood  of  God's  dear  Son  :  the  imperfect  works 
of  men  in  place  of  the  finished  work  of  the  Re- 
deemer. They  went  about  to  establish  their  own 
righteousness,  and  did  not  submit  themselves  to 
the  righteousness  of  God.  They  justified  them- 
selves. They  thought  that  they  were  whole  and 
needed  not  any  physician.  They  thought  that 
they  were  rich,  and  increased  in  goods,  and  had 
need  of  nothing ;  and  knew  not  that  they  were 


20  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

poor,  and  miserable,  and  blind,  and  naked,  and 
had  need  of  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification, 
and  redemption  through  the  Lord  of  life  and 
glory.  They  trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were 
righteous  and  despised  others.  To  every  other 
man  they  said,  "  Stand  by  thyself,  come  not  near 
to  me;  for  I  am  holier  than  thou."  Is.  lxv.  5. 
Such  were  a  smoke  in  God's  nose,  a  fire  that 
burnt  all  the  day.  To  them  he  said  :  "  To  what 
purpose  is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto 
me  ?  I  am  full  of  the  burnt-offerings  of  rams, 
and  the  fat  of  fed  beasts.  .  .  .  Bring  no  more 
vain  oblations :  incense  is  an  abomination  unto 
me.  ...  It  is  iniquity,  even  the  solemn  meeting. 
Is.  i.  11,  13. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  spirit  of  those 
who  embraced  this  corrupt  system  was  cruel 
and  persecuting.  They  are  well  described  in  the 
prophet  Micah,  iii.  5.  See  also  Acts  xxiv.  5. 
The  more  strict  any  one  was,  the  more  bitter 
were  his  animosities.  They  killed  the  prophets  ; 
they  murdered  God's  Son ;  they  persecuted  his 
people.  The  more  Saul  of  Tarsus  prized  his 
religion,  the  more  did  he  breathe  threatenings 
and  slaughter  against  the  church  of  God.  He 
haled  men  and  women  to  prison  and  to  judg- 
ment, to  mockings  and  to  death.  He  was  ex- 
ceeding mad  against  all  who  dared  to  profess 


PHARISAISM    AMONG   THE    JEWS.  21 

faith  in  the  only  Saviour  of  sinners.  The  tender 
mercies  of  such  a  system  are  cruel.  Those  who 
embrace  it  sit  down  in  perfect  coolness  to  medi- 
tate torture.  They  gloat  over  the  miseries  of 
their  helpless  victims.  They  wag  the  head  and 
taunt  even  those  who  are  at  their  hands  suffering 
the  agonies  of  crucifixion.  They  kill  the  body, 
and,  if  they  had  the  power,  they  would  kill  the 
soul.  They  have  no  mercy.  They  are  the  ene- 
mies of  the  cross  of  Christ,  haters  of  true  godli- 
ness, and  opposers  of  all  goodness.  They  enl^er 
not  the  kingdom  of  God  themselves,  and  them 
that  are  entering  they  hinder.  Thus  the  Phari- 
sees took  away  the  key  of  knowledge,  and  left  the 
blind,  who  followed  them,  to  perish  in  ignorance 
of  the  truth  of  God. 

Yet,  with  many,  these  people  had  a  great  repu- 
tation for  piety.  They  managed  to  win  the  confi- 
dence of  thousands  ;  so  that  it  was  often  said,  "  if 
but  two  men  are  saved,  one  of  them  will  be  a 
Pharisee  and  the  other  a  scribe."  Indeed,  with 
many,  their  religion  was  highly  popular.  The 
reason  was  that  it  required  no  love,  no  meekness, 
no  humility,  no  self-denial  of  the  strong  inclina- 
tions of  the  wicked  heart.  One  could  come  away 
from  his  street-corner  devotions  as  full  of  self- 
righteousness  as  it  was  possible  for  man  to  be. 
Even  burdensome  rituals  are  but  slightly  repug- 


22  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

nant  to  the  carnal  mind,  compared  with  its 
hatred  of  spiritual  religion.  It  always  has  been 
so.  It  is  so  at  this  day.  It  will  be  so  to 
the  end  of  time.  The  very  hardest  thing  in  reli- 
gion is,  to  confess  that  even  our  righteousnesses 
are  filthy  rags,  that  all  outward  services  without 
supreme  love  to  God  are  worthless,  and  that  if  we 
shall  ever  be  saved,  it  must  be  solely  by  the  rich, 
free,  sovereign,  unmerited  grace  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus,  our  Lord. 

t  It  was  of  these  people  that  our  Saviour  said  : — 
"Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye 
shall  in  no  case  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven :" 
Matt.  v.  20.  If  by  the  word  righteousness  is 
here  meant  personal  virtue,  as  some  think,  this  is 
a  good  sense,  and  is  very  true.  The  holiness  of 
these  men  was  outward,  official,  ceremonial,  and 
left  sin  undisturbed  on  the  throne  of  the  heart. 
The  holiness  God  requires  is  inward,  personal, 
spiritual — of  the  heart,  and  universal  as  to  the 
precepts  of  God's  law.  It  was  the  most  difficult 
thing  imaginable,  to  convince  a  Pharisee  that  he 
was  a  sinner  at  all.  Paul,  who  had  been  one  of 
their  number,  says,  "  I  had  not  known  sin,  but 
by  the  law  :  for  I  had  not  known  lust,  except  the 
law  had  said,  Thou  shalt  not  covet."  If  one 
repeated  the  ten  commandments  to  one  of  these 


PHARISAISM   AMONG    THE    JEWS.  23 

deluded  men,  his  prompt  reply  was,  "All  these 
have  I  kept  from  my  youth  tip."     Outwardly  he 
had  done  it,  perhaps,  even  where  the  heart  was  a 
whited  sepulchre,  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all 
uncleanness.     But  if  the  word  righteousness  in 
Matt.  v.    20,  means  justifying  righteousness,    as 
some  think  it  does,  then  the  sense  is  also  good, 
and  the  doctrine  most  true  ;  for  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees   never   sought   nor  desired  any  other 
ground  of  acceptance  with  God  than  their  own 
merits,   and   God   abhors   all   such   pretensions. 
The  grand  difference  between  the  worship  of  Cain 
and  Abel  was,  that  Cain's  offerings  were  fit  only 
for  an  unfallen  creature,  while  Abel's  well  suited 
a  sinner,  who  felt  his  lost,  guilty  and  helpless  con- 
dition.    These  first  two  men  that  were  ever  born, 
well  represent  the  two  classes  of  men  that  have 
ever  since  been  in  the  world;  one  trusting  in 
themselves  that  they  are  righteous,  and  despising 
others,  the  other   crying,  "God  be  merciful  to 
me,  a  sinner." 

Is  it  surprising,  that  the  great  infallible  Teacher 
denounced  many  woes  on  these  people  ?  They 
and  their  followers  were  fearfully  hardened  by 
all  their  perversion  of  Scripture,  and  by  all 
their  opposition  to  the  plain  teachings  of 
God's  word.  A  soul  steeped  in  falsehood  and 
dead  in   unbelief  is   in   a   sad  way.     Very  few 


24  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

of  the  leaders  in  these  errors  were  converted 
by  our  Saviour's  miracles  and  preaching.  The 
publicans  and  harlots  entered  into  the  kingdom 
of  God  before  them.  Nor  did  the  conversion  of 
great  sinners  seem  at  all  to  make  any  good  im- 
pression on  their  minds.  They  were  hardened  in 
pride. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PAPISTS    PRACTISE    THE    ARTS  OF  THEIR    JEWISH    FORE- 
RUNNERS, AND    WITH    LIKE    EFFECTS. 

Pharisaism  is  quite  congenial  with  the  carnal 
mind  of  man.  The  false  teachers  in  the  days  of 
our  Saviour  have  been  closely  followed  by  the 
ministers  of  Anti-Christ.  All  the  essential  prin- 
ciples of  the  old  school  of  Pharisees  are  revived 
in  the  church  of  Rome.  The  Pope,  his  Bishops 
and  Priests  practise  very  much  the  same  arts  as 
the  Scribes  and  Lawyers  of  old,  and  with  very 
much  the  same  design  and  effect. 

Like  the  Pharisees,  Papists  hold  that  the  Scrip- 
tures are  not  the  only  and  whole  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.  The  Council  of  Trent  expressly  says, 
that  all  "  saving  truth  and  discipline  are  contained 
both  in  written  books  and  in  unwritten  traditions, 
which  have  come  down  to  us,  either  received  by 
the  apostles  from  the  lips  of  Christ  himself,  or 
transmitted  by  the  hands  of  the  same  apostles 
under  the  dictation  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;"  and  de- 
clares that  it  "  doth  receive  and  reverence,  with 
equal  piety  and  veneration,  all  the  books,  as  well 
3  (25) 


26  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

of  the  Old  as  of  the  New  Testament,  the  same 
God  being  the  author  of  both — and  also  the 
aforesaid  traditions,  pertaining  both  to  faith  and 
manners,  whether  received  from  Christ  himself, 
or  dictated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  preserved  in 
the  Catholic  Church  by  continual  succession." 
It  also  says,  "that  whoever  shall  knowingly  and 
deliberately  despise  the  aforesaid  traditions,  let 
him  be  accursed."  This  is  explicit  and  unmis- 
takable. With  this  agrees  the  Canon  Law, 
"  That  all  do  with  such  reverence  regard  the  apos- 
tolic seal,  that  they  rather  desire  to  know  the 
ancient  institution  of  the  Christian  religion  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Pope,  than  from  the  sacred 
pages."  Cardinal  Hosius  says  :  "  Much  the  great- 
est part  of  the  Gospel  is  come  to  us  by  tradition, 
very  little  of  it  is  committed  to  writing." 

How  contrary  all  this  doctrine  is  to  the  divine 
teachings  is  evident  from  the  Holy  Scriptures 
themselves.  This  can  be  shown  from  the  Do  way 
Bible,  which  in  all  matters  of  dispute  between 
Romanists  and  Protestants  will  be  quoted  in  this 
treatise  unless  notice  to  the  contrary  shall  be  given. 
This  is  done,  not  because  that  translation  is  the 
best,  but  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  all  dis- 
putes about  the  rendering  of  the  sacred  text. 
The  first  proof  adduced  from  Scripture  is  found 
in  Deut  xii.  32.     "What  I  command  thee,  that 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  27 

only  do  thou  to  the  Lord  :  neither  add  any  thing 
nor  diminish."  To  this  a  note  is  affixed  :  "  They 
are  forbid  here  to  follow  the  ceremonies  of  the 
heathens  ;  or  to  make  any  alteration  in  the  divine 
ordinances."  That  is  a  good  note.  Yet  how 
much  Rome  adds  and  diminishes,  it  is  hard  to  say. 
According  to  Hosius  "  very  little"  of  the  rule 
adopted  at  Rome  is  written.  The  next  text  is 
found  in  Gal.  i.  8,  9.  "But  though  we  or  an 
angel  from  heaven  preach  a  gospel  to  you  beside 
that  which  we  have  preached  to  you,  let  him  be 
anathema.  As  we  said  before,  so  I  say  now 
again  :  if  any  one  preach  to  you  a  gospel  besides 
that  which  you  have  received,  let  him  be  anath- 
ema." Could  the  apostle  in  more  solemn  words 
have  warned  men  not  to  add  anything  to  God's 
word?  In  2  Tim.  iii.  16,  IT,  Paul  asserts  that 
"  all  Scripture  divinely  inspired  is  profitable  to 
teach,  to  reprove,  to  correct,  to  instruct  in  justice  : 
that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  furnished 
unto  every  good  work."  By  "  the  man  of  God" 
is  certainly  to  be  understood  a  minister  of  Christ. 
Yet  Paul  says  that  even  he,  having  the  Scriptures, 
is  "  perfect,"  "furnished."  He  needs  no  Bishops, 
Popes,  or  Councils  to  furnish  him  for  his  work. 
Such  is  a  sample  of  divine  teachings  on  this  sub- 
ject. See  also  Ps.  xviii.  [King  James'  Bible, 
Ps.  xix.]  7-12,  and  Apocalypse  xxii.  18,  19. 


28  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

The  Church  of  Rome  has  also  incorporated  the 
Apocrypha  of  the  Old  Testament  into  her  canon, 
and  "  receives  and  reverences  with  equal  piety 
and  veneration"  the  five  books  of  Moses  and  the 
two  books  of  Esdras,  the  books  of  Joshua  and 
Tobit,  Esther  and  Judith,  the  Song  of  Solomon 
and  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  Ecclesiastes  and 
Ecclesiasticus,  Hosea  and  Baruch,  the  first  and 
second  epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  and  the  first 
and  second  books  of  Maccabees.  Thus  Rome 
honors  the  story  of  Tobit  and  his  dog  as  no  less 
inspired  than  the  narrative  of  Christ's  trium- 
phant entry  into  Jerusalem.  She  takes  up  the 
old  rags,  which  even  the  ancient  Pharisees  refused 
to  wear,  and  calls  them  beautiful  garments ;  for 
the  Jews  never  received,  as  canonical  Scripture, 
any  of  the  books  held  by  Protestants  to  be  apo- 
cryphal ;  and  the  Doway  Bible,  in  a  note  prefixed 
to  the  first  book  of  Maccabees,  acknowledges  that 
neither  of  those  books  was  received  by  the  Jews. 
A  note  prefixed  to  Ecclesiasticus  also  says  that 
book  "is  not  in  the  Jewish  canon."  That  these 
books  should  not  be  received  as  the  word  of  God 
is  evident  many  ways ;  but  we  shall  not  now  enter 
at  length  into  the  argument.  The  author  of  the 
second  book  of  Maccabees  fairly  disclaims  inspi- 
ration. Indeed  he  apologizes  for  the  imperfec- 
tion of  his  work.     He  says:  "I  will  here  make 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  29 

an  end  of  my  narration  ;  which  if  I  have  done 
well,  and  as  it  becometh  the  history,  it  is  what  I 
desired ;  but  if  not  so  perfectly,  it  must  be  par- 
doned me."  2  Mac.  xv.  38,  39.  The  same  book 
contains  the  clearest  internal  evidence  that  it  is 
not  from  God,  because  it  commends  an  attempt 
to  commit  suicide,  which  God  abhors.  Speaking 
of  Rasias  it  says,  (chap.  xiv.  41,  42,)  "  as  the 
multitude  sought  to  rush  into  his  house,  and  to 
break  open  the  door  and  to  set  fire  to  it,  when  he 
was  ready  to  be  taken,  he  struck  himself  with  his 
sword  :  choosing  to  die  nobly  rather  than  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  wicked,  and  to  suffer  abuses 
unbecoming  his  noble  birth."  Clearly  that  doc- 
trine is  not  from  heaven.  Suicide  is  not  noble  in 
God's  esteem.  But  the  object  here  sought  is  not 
so  much  to  argue  this  point,  as  to  show  to  the 
intelligent  reader  how  Rome  imitates  the  Phari- 
sees, by  honoring,  as  of  divine  authority,  uncano- 
nical  books,  adopting  those  which  even  the 
Pharisees  rejected. 

Having  erroneously  settled  the  canon  of  Scrip- 
ture and  the  rule  of  faith,  the  church  of  Rome  in- 
sists upon  her  interpretations  as  absolutely  neces- 
sary. She  contends  that  the  written  word  is  to 
be  interpreted  by  tradition,  by  the  fathers,  by 
councils,  by  Popes,  and  by  bishops.  Thus  the 
Council  of  Trent,  decreed,  "that  in  matters  of 
3* 


80  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

faith  and  morals,  and  whatever  relates  to  the 
maintenance  of  Christian  doctrine,  no  one  confid- 
ing in  his  own  judgment,  shall  dare  to  wrest  the 
sacred  Scriptures  to  his  own  sense  of  them,  con- 
trary to  that  which  hath  been  held  and  is  held  by- 
holy  Mother  Church,  whose  right  it  is  to  judge 
of  the  true  meaning  and  interpretation  of  Sacred 
Writ ;  or  contrary  to  the  unanimous  consent  of 
the  fathers ;  even  though  such  interpretations 
should  never  be  published."  Romanists  endea- 
vor to  maintain  this  ground  by  the  very  argument 
employed  by  the  Jewish  lawyers,  and  attempt, 
says  Whitby,  "to  prove  that  private  men,  laics 
and  inferior  priests  are  not  to  be  governed  by 
their  own  sentiments  of  Christ's  doctrine  ;  but 
must  submit  to  their  general  councils,  and  to  the 
major  part  of  their  church-guides.  And  .... 
it  is  as  strong  in  the  mouth  of  the  Pharisees 
against  Christ  being  the  Messiah,  as  in  the  mouth 
of  Papists  against  Protestants." 

Papists  deny  that  God's  word  is  to  be  taken  in 
its  obvious  sense.  The  true  mode  of  interpreting 
Scripture  is  well  expressed  by  Luther :  "  The 
literal  meaning  of  Scripture  is  the  whole  founda- 
tion of  faith,  the  only  thing  that  stands  its  ground 
in  distress  and  temptation."  Melancthon  ex- 
presses the  same  rule,  thus,  "It  is  necessary  in 
the  Church,  diligently  to  investigate  and  adhere 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  31 

to  the  simple,  natural,  grammatical  sense  of  Scrip- 
ture. We  are  to  listen  to  the  Divine  word,  not 
to  corrupt  it.  We  must  not  play  tricks  with  it, 
by  fanciful  interpretations,  as  many,  in  all  ages, 
have  done.  The  plain,  natural  sense  of  Scripture 
always  carries  with  it  the  richest  and  most  valua- 
ble instruction."  Richard  Hooker  also  says  :  "I 
hold  it  for  a  most  infallible  rule  in  exposition  of 
sacred  Scripture,  that  where  a  literal  construc- 
tion will  stand,  the  furthest  from  the  letter  is 
commonly  the  worst."  But  Rome  puts  Church 
authority  above  all  rules  and  reason,  in  interpret- 
ing the  lively  oracles. 

With  such  a  canon  of  Scriptures,  such  a  rule 
of  faith  and  practice,  such  a  denial  of  the  right  of 
individuals  to  judge  of  what  God  says,  and  with 
such  arrogant  pretensions  to  an  exclusive  right  to 
interpret  God's  word,  the  results  reached  by  the 
Church  of  Rome  are  much  the  same  as  those 
reached  by  the  Pharisees  of  old.  The  Council  of 
Trent,  everywhere,  pronounces  those  who  differ 
from  her,  accursed,  even  to  the  extent  of  declar- 
ing that  "whoever  shall  affirm,  that  the  conjugal 
state  is  to  be  preferred  to  a  life  of  virginity  or  celi- 
bacy, and  that  it  is  not  better  and  more  conducive 
to  happiness,  [beatius,~]  to  remain  in  virginity  or 
celibacy,  than  to  be  married,  let  him  be  accursed." 
Indeed,  all  the  canons  of  that  Council,  (there  are, 


32  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

in  all,  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  them,) 
end  with  the  awful  anathema  sit,  u  Let  him  be 
accursed."  And  we  all  know  how,  everywhere, 
the  Church  of  Rome  declares,  that  out  of  her 
communion  there  is  no  salvation,  although  Jesus 
Christ  said  :  "  He  that  believeth  in  the  Son,  hath 
life  everlasting  ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  the 
Son,  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  on  him ."  John  iii.  36.  Like  the 
Jews  of  old,  Papists  are  fond  of  cursing  other 
people,  and  of  delivering  them  over  to  uncove- 
nanted  mercies,  that  is,  to  perdition.  Surely,  if 
of  any  people  it  is  true,  that  their  mouth  is  full 
of  cursing  and  bitterness,  it  is  true  of  the  priest- 
hood of  Rome.  Yet  they  profess  to  be  followers 
of  Him  who  said,  "Bless  them  that  curse  you. 
Bless  and  curse  not." 

The  doctrine  and  usage  of  the  church  of  Rome 
respecting  the  invocation  of  saints  are  just  the 
same  with  those  of  the  old  Pharisees,  in  their 
most  corrupt  days.  On  this  subject  the  fathers  of 
Trent  teach  that  "the  saints,  who  reign  together 
with  Christ,  offer  their  prayers  to  God  for  men ; 
that  it  is  a  good  and  useful  thing  suppliantly  to 
invoke  them,  and  to  flee  to  their  prayers,  help, 
and  assistance,  because  of  the  benefits  bestowed 
by  God  through  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
who  is  our  only  Redeemer  and  Saviour ;  and  that 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  33 

those  are  men  of  impious  sentiments,  who  deny 
that  the  saints,  who  enjoy  eternal  happiness  in 
heaven,  are  to  be  invoked — or  who  affirm  that 
they  do  not  pray  for  men ;  or  that  to  beseech 
them  to  pray  for  us  is  idolatry,  or  that  it  is  con- 
trary to  the  word  of  God,  and  opposed  to  the 
honor  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  one  Mediator  between 
God  and  man  ;  or  that  it  is  foolish  to  supplicate, 
verbally  or  mentally,  those  who  reign  in  heaven." 
This  is  clear  and  decided.  The  practice  of  that 
church  in  this  behalf  agrees  with  her  decrees. 
Open  any  of  her  books  of  devotion,  and  you  will 
find  Mary,  Michael,  Paul  and  Peter,  and  many 
others,  addressed  much  more  frequently  than  God, 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  And  what  is 
well  worthy  of  notice  is,  that  Romanists  every- 
where rely  on  the  passage  already  quoted  from 
Tobit,  in  vindication  of  their  belief  and  practice 
on  this  subject.  But  Colossians  ii.  18,  presents  a 
very  difficult  text  for  Papists  to  dispose  of.  That 
text  in  the  Doway  Bible  reads  thus  :  "  Let  no 
man  seduce  you,  willing  in  humility,  and  religion 
of  angels,  walking  in  the  things  which  he  hath 
not  seen,  in  vain  puffed  up  by  the  sense  of  his 
flesh."  The  note  to  this  passage  says  :  "  That  is, 
by  a  self-willed,  self-invented,  superstitious  wor- 
ship, falsely  pretending  humility,  but  really  pro- 
ceeding from  pride.     Such  was  the  worship  that 


34  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

many  of  the  philosophers  paid  to  angels  or  de- 
mons, by  sacrificing  to  them,  as  carriers  of  intel- 
ligence betwixt  God  and  men ;  pretending  humi- 
lity in  so  doing,  as  if  God  was  too  great  to  be 
addressed  by  men  ;  and  setting  aside  the  media- 
torship  of  Jesus  Christ ;  who  is  the  head  both  of 
angels  and  men."  This  note  thus  far  seems  well 
to  accord  with  the  text,  and  with  other  portions 
of  Scripture.  But  then  the  note  adds,  what  Paul 
"writes  here,  no  way  touches  the  Catholic  doc- 
trine and  practice,  of  desiring  our  good  angels  to 
pray  to  God  for  us,  through  Jesus  Christ."  The 
text  is  one  thing  :  the  denial  is  quite  another. 

Papists  also,  like  the  Pharisees,  pray  for  the 
dead.  Their  whole  doctrine  of  purgatory  is  based 
upon  the  efficacy  of  prayers  for  those  who  have 
gone  to  eternity.  The  Council  of  Trent  taught 
that  "there  is  a  purgatory,  and  that  the  souls  de- 
tained there  are  assisted  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
faithful,  but  especially  by  the  acceptable  sacrifice 
of  the  mass;"  and  commanded  "all  bishops  dili- 
gently to  endeavor  that  the  wholesome  doctrine 
of  purgatory,  delivered  to  us  by  venerable  fathers 
and  holy  councils,  be  believed  and  held  by 
Christ's  faithful,  and  everywhere  taught  and 
preached."  ....  "Let  the  bishops  take  care 
that  the  suffrages  of  the  living  faithful,  masses, 
prayers,  alms,  and  other  works  of  piety,  which  the 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  35 

faithful  have  been  accustomed  to  perform  for  de- 
parted believers,  be  piously  and  religiously  ren- 
dered, according  to  the  institutes  of  the  church : 
and  whatsoever  services  are  due  to  the  dead, 
through  the  endowments  of  deceased  persons,  or 
in  any  other  way,  let  them  not  be  performed 
slightly,  but  diligently  and  carefully,"  &c.  In 
justification  of  prayers  for  the  dead,  Papists  in- 
variably quote  2  Maccabees  xii.  43-46 ;  thus 
building  up  the  system  on  the  example  of  their 
forerunners,  the  Jewish  errorists  of  old. 

In  like  manner  Papists  follow  the  example  of 
the  most  corrupt  Jews  of  the  olden  times,  and 
employ  images  in  worship.  The  Council  of 
Trent,  addressing  "all  bishops  and  others,  who 
have  the  care  and  charge  of  teaching,"  says,  "  let 
them  teach  that  the  images  of  Christ,  of  the  Vir- 
gin, Mother  of  God,  and  of  other  saints,  are  to 
be  had  and  retained,  especially  in  churches,  and 
due  honor  and  veneration  rendered  to  them.  Not 
that  it  is  believed  that  any  divinity  or  power  re- 
sides in  them,  on  account  of  which  they  are  to  be 
worshiped, .  or  that  any  benefit  is  to  be  sought 
from  them,  or  any  confidence  placed  in  images, 
as  was  formerly  by  the  Gentiles,  who  fixed  their 
hope  in  idols.  But  the  honor  with  which  they 
are  regarded  is  referred  to  those  who  are  repre- 
sented by  them ;  so  that  we  adore  Christ  and  ve- 


36  ROME    AGAINST    THE     BIBLE. 

nerate  the  saints,  whose  likenesses  these  images 
bear,  when  we  kiss  them,  and  uncover  our  heads 
in  their  presence,  and  prostrate  ourselves.  All 
which  has  been  sanctioned  by  the  decrees  of 
Councils  against  the  impugners  of  images,  espe- 
cially the  second  Council  of  Nice."  Yet  they 
add  that,  "  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Deity 
can  be  seen  by  our  bodily  eyes,  or  that  a  likeness 
of  God  can  be  given  in  color  or  figure."  A  Hin- 
doo might  say,  and  often  does  say,  just  the  same 
in  worshiping  his  images.  The  corrupt  Jews  of 
old  used  the  very  same  plea  respecting  their  use 
of  images. 

In  this  corrupt  practice  of  Rome  is  found  the 
probable  cause  of  the  omission  of  the  second  com- 
mandment from  many  Komish  catechisms.  For 
it  would  be  terrible  for  one,  who  in  the  sanctuary 
was  kissing  or  prostrating  himself  before  an 
image,  to  remember  the  awful  words  of  Jehovah 
from  Mount  Sinai,  which  in  our  Bible  are  cor- 
rectly translated  thus:  "Thou  shalt  not  make 
unto  thee  any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness  of 
any  tiling  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or  that  is  in 
the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  water  under 
the  earth :  thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to 
them,  nor  serve  them  :  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am 
a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth  gene- 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  37 

ration  of  them  that  hate  me  ;  and  showing  mercy 
unto  thousands  of  them  that  love  me,  and  keep 
my  commandments."  The  precept  is  as  clear  as 
the  threatening  is  dreadful.  Let  men  beware 
how  they  trifle  with  God's  worship.  Nor  are 
other  portions  of  Scripture  less  explicit  in  prohi- 
biting the  use  of  images  in  worship,  than  this  se- 
cond commandment.  See  especially,  Deut.  iv. 
15-18,  and  parallel  passages. 

From  such  principles  as  have  been  shown  to 
belong  to  Rome,  naturally  proceeds  a  corrupt 
system  of  casuistry,  full  of  endless  distinctions 
and  absurd  decisions.  At  one  time,  it  was  de- 
signed to  insert  specimens  of  the  decisions  of 
Papal  doctors  and  casuists ;  but  this  might  lead 
too  far  from  the  main  object,  now  in  view.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say,  that  every  commandment  is  sub- 
verted by  their  glosses,  their  refinements,  their 
distinctions.  In  particular,  their  casuists  adopt, 
to  a  fearful  extent,  the  principle,  that  a  man  may 
do  evil  that  good  may  come.  "  They  lengthen 
the  creed  and  shorten  the  decalogue."  They  hold 
to  as  corrupt  principles  as  can,  by  any  possibility, 
be  formed.  Lying,  theft,  murder,  idolatry,  Sab- 
bath-breaking, Jasciviousness,  every  vice,  every 
crime,  can  be  justified  by  their  code  or  their  au- 
thority. 

Those  who  go  thus  far,  have  yet  no  objection 
4 


38  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

to  a  strict  ritual.  They  will  fast  even  more  than 
twice  in  the  week.  They  will  even  pretend  to 
fast  forty  days,  if  required.  It  does  not  make 
war  on  any  of  their  corruptions  to  believe  that 
they  will  please  the  Almighty  better  by  dining 
on  cod  or  salmon,  rock  or  shad,  than  on  beef  or 
mutton,  pig  or  venison  ;  or  that  it  would  be  much 
more  pleasing  to  God,  for  them  to  dress  their  food 
with  hog's  lard  than  with  butter  of  kine.  They 
often  believe  that  they  are  serving  God  by  dis- 
honoring their  own  bodies,  by  whipping  them- 
selves, and  by  many  acts  entirely  contrary  to  the 
natural  duty  of  loving  and  cherishing  their  own 
flesh.  The  rules  of  the  different  orders,  all  duly 
sanctioned,  impose  almost  endless  observances. 
Among  the  most  zealous  of  their  ritualists  may  be 
found,  not  only  the  priest,  the  monk,  the  nun,  and 
the  respectable  citizen,  but  also  the  robber  in  the 
Alps  and  Pyrennees,  and  the  pirate  on  the  high 
seas.  These  often  carry  their  images  of  the  Vir- 
gin, say  their  beads  with  carefulness,  and  fast  on 
Friday,  just  as  if  they  were  the  most  innocent  in 
society. 

Such  people  may,  very  naturally,  be  expected 
to  exhibit  a  fondness  for  public  religious  shows. 
They  will  have  their  processions,  they  will  wear 
their  long  robes,  and  may  be  found  offering  their 
personal  devotions  in  churches,  just  as  the  Phari- 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  39 

sees  did  in  the  synagogues ;  and  they  will  thor- 
oughly study  the  science  and  art  of  grimaces. 
Who  has  not  noticed  the  demure  looks  of  Popish 
priests  ?  Many  know  not  that  all  this  sanc- 
timoniousness is  practised  by  rule.  Yet  such  is 
the  fact.  Here  are  some  of  the  rules  by  which 
the  Jesuits  direct  their  members:  "They  must 
not  lightly  turn  their  heads  this  way  and  that 
way,  but  with  gravity,  when  need  shall  require  ; 
and  if  there  be  no  need,  they  must  hold  it 
straight,  bending  it  a  little  forward,  not  leaning 
it  on  either  side." — "For  the  most  part,  they 
must  look  downward,  neither  immoderately  lifting 
up  their  eyes,  nor  casting  them  now  one  way, 
now  another." — "  When  they  converse,  especially 
with  men  in  authority,  they  must  not  fix  their 
sight  upon  their  eyes,  but  rather  a  little  below 
them." — "Wrinkles  in  their  forehead,  and  much 
more  in  their  nose,  are  to  be  avoided,  that  there 
may  appear  outwardly,  a  kind  of  serenity  which 
may  be  a  token  of  the  inward." — "Their  lips 
must  neither  be  too  much  shut  nor  too  much  open." 
"  Their  hands,  if  they  be  not  employed  in  holding 
up  their  garments,  must  be  held  decently  quiet." 
And  these  rules  are  in  force  in  America.  Could 
the  old  Jewish  Pharisees  exceed  these  moderns  in 
rules  for  looks  and  gestures  ?     I  trow  not. 

Their  religious  ceremonies  will  very  naturally  be 


40  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

as  pompous  and  gorgeous  as  possible.  Romanists 
do,  in  fact,  conduct  their  public  worship  in  a  dead 
language,  unknown  to  the  people. 

This  practice  is  directly  in  the  teeth  of  their 
own  translation  of  the  14th  chapter  of  1st  Corin- 
thians. There  we  find  such  passages  as  these  : 
"  Greater  is  he  that  prophesieth,  [in  a  note  pro- 
phesying is  correctly  explained  to  mean  declaring 
or  expounding  the  mysteries  of  faith]  than  he 
that  speaketh  with  tongues  ;  unless,  perhaps,  he 
interpret,  that  the  church  may  receive  edification. 
But  now,  brethren,  if  I  come  to  you  speaking  with 
tongues,  what  shall  I  profit  you,  unless  I  speak  to 
you  either  in  revelation  or  in  knowledge,  or  in  pro- 
phecy or  in  doctrine  ?  .  .  .  "  Unless  you  utter, 
by  the  tongue,  plain  speech,  how  shall  it  be  known 
what  is  spoken  ?  For  you  shall  be  speaking  into 
the  air."  .  .  .  "  Let  him  that  speaketh  a  tongue 
pray  that  he  may  interpret.  For  if  I  pray  in  a 
tongue,  my  spirit  prayeth,  but  my  understanding  is 
without  fruit.  What  is  it  then  ?  I  will  pray  in  the 
spirit :  I  will  pray  also  in  the  understanding  :  I 
will  sing  with  the  spirit :  I  will  sing  also  with  the 
understanding."  .  .  .  ''In  the  church  I  had 
rather  speak  five  words  with  the  understanding, 
that  1  may  instruct  others  also  ;  than  ten  thou- 
sand in  a  tongue." 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE   PHARISEES.  41 

These  and  other  similar  teachings  in  the  same 
chapter  are  felt  to  be  hard  sayings  against  a  lit- 
urgy in  an  unknown  tongue.     Therefore  a  note 
is  affixed  to   the  16th  verse,  in  which  it  says  : 
"  The  use  or  abuse  of  strange  tongues,  of  which 
the  apostle  here  speaks,  does  not  regard  the  pub- 
lic liturgy  of  the  church,  (in  which  strange  tongues 
were  never  used)."    .    .    .    Afterwards  it  adds, 
"  Xote,  that  the  Latin,  used  in  our  liturgy,  is  so 
far  from  being  a  strange  or  unknown  tongue,  that 
it  is  perhaps  the  best  known  tongue  in  the  world." 
Was  ever  sophistry  more  shallow,  or  perversion 
of  the  plain  sense  of  a  writer  more  manifest  ? 
Strange  tongues  never  used  in  the  liturgy  or  in 
the  church  ! ! !     None  other  than  a  strange  tongue 
in  the  sense  in  which  Paul  speaks  of  tongues,  is 
used  in  the  Romish  liturgy  any  where.     And  how 
atrocious  the  statement  that  the  Latin  is  perhaps 
the  best  known  tongue  in  the  world,  when  the 
truth  is,  that  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word  it 
is  no  longer  a  tongue  (or  spoken  language)  at  all, 
but  a  dead  language,  the  correct  pronunciation  of 
which  is  lost,  nor  is  there  a  mother  on  earth  that 
speaks  it  to  her  little  ones,  though  it  is  studied  by 
learned  persons.     Yet  the  English  is  spoken  by 
sixty  millions  of  people,  and  understood  by  many 
millions   besides,  and  the   French   by  probably 
more. 

4* 


42  ROME    AGAIXST   THE    BIBLE. 

Nor  need  we  be  surprised  at  finding  Romanists 
following  the  footsteps  of  Pharisees  in  cruelty  and 
persecution.  Every  Romish  Bishop  is  a  sworn 
persecutor,  to  the  extent  of  his  power,  of  all  who 
reject  the  ghostly  authority  of  the  Pope.  The 
very  language  of  his  oath  is:  "Heretics,  schis- 
matics, and  rebels  to  our  said  lord  [the  Pope]  or 
his  foresaid  successors,  I  will  to  my  power  per- 
secute and  oppose."  In  1845,  Francis  Patrick 
Kenrick,  then  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  now  Arch- 
bishop of  Baltimore,  published  a  work,  entitled 
11  The  Primacy  of  the  Apostolic  See  Vindicated. " 
He  dedicated  it  to  the  Hon.  Roger  B.  Taney, 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States.  The  20th 
chapter  is  devoted  to  the  Inquisition.  More  than 
21  large  8vo.  pages  are  devoted  not  to  the 
condemnation  of  that  most  wicked  tribunal,  but 
to  an  apology,  for  it.  In  his  apology  he  uses 
such  language  as  this:  "The  Inquisition  is  not 
directed  to  the  punishment  of  heretics,  but  rather 
to  their  conversion."  p.  329.  "  The  appoint- 
ment of  Inquisitors  by  Innocent  III.,  seems  to 
have  been  designed  to  prevent  civil  wars,  on  the 
score  of  religion."  p.  332.  The  Inquisitors 
"did  not  thirst  for  human  blood,  nor  act  indis- 
criminately and  hastily,  but  sought  by  persuasion, 
and  every  mild  influence,  to  gain  the  culprits, 
During  a  long  period  they  were  members  of  reli- 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  43 

gious  orders,  chiefly  Dominicans  and  Franciscans, 
men  advanced  in  age  and  of  unblemished  reputa- 
tion, whose  mild  and  peaceful  habits  rendered 
them  unlikely  to  delight  in  blood.  The  most 
beautiful  examples  of  a  Christian  spirit  have  been 
left  by  several  of  them."  p.  333.  On  page  339 
he  tells  us  that  "  St.  Theresa,  and  St.  Ignatius  of 
Loyola,  and  other  holy  persons  commended  its 
influence  and  results."  He  is  here  speaking  of 
the  Spanish  Inquisition.  On  page  343  he  says : 
"  Although  all  its  officers  and  the  accuser,  culprit, 
witnesses,  and  advocate  were  bound  to  secrecy,  yet 
the  number  of  persons  engaged  in  the  process, 
and  the  character  of  the  judges,  precluded  all  rea- 
sonable danger  of  injustice."  No  free  man  can 
read  this  chapter  without  indignation. 

His  Holiness  perhaps  never  had  two  dearer 
sons  than  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and  Charles  IX.  the 
king  of  France.  How  bloody  their  career  was, 
history  abundantly  declares.  In  her  arrogance 
Rome  claims  to  be  the  mother  and  mistress  of  all 
churches.  She  always  aims  to  lord  it  over  God's 
heritage.  She  has  her  dungeons  for  the  refrac- 
tory. Wherever  the  law  and  public  opinion  allow 
it,  Romish  Bishops  have  their  jails,  and  imprison 
whom  they  will.  Religious  liberty  is  an  offence 
to  Rome.  Even  toleration  is  not  her  habit,  nor 
her  principle.  It  is  only  to  be  extended  where 
she'  can  do  no  otherwise. 


44  ROME    AGAINST    THE   BIBLE. 

As  to  the  superstitions  of  Rome,  they  are  innu- 
merable. Her  trade  in  dead  men's  bones  has 
brought  her  millions.  It  is  quite  active  even  at 
this  day.  In  purely  Roman  Catholic  countries, 
few  people  are  found  without  their  amulets  of 
some  kind.  Even  the  poor  savage  in  the  wilds 
of  America  is  taught  by  Jesuit  priests  to  rely 
on  his  cross,  his  crucifix,  or  his  picture  of  the 
Yirgin,  just  as  the  African  does  on  his  Greegree. 
But  this  field  is  too  wide  to  be  traversed  or  sur- 
veyed at  this  time. 

As  to  the  justification  of  man  before  God,  the 
error  of  Rome  is  as  great  as  that  of  the  Phari- 
sees. Trent  declares  that  "  whoever  shall  affirm, 
that  the  good  works  of  a  justified  man  are  in 
such  sense  the  gifts  of  God,  that  they  are  not  also 
his  worthy  [bona]  merits  ;  or  that  he  being  justi- 
fied by  his  good  works,  which  are  wrought  by  him 
through  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ,  of  whom  he  is  a  living  member,  does  not 
really  deserve  increase  of  grace,  eternal  life,  the 
enjoyment  of  that  life  if  he  dies  in  a  state  of  grace, 
and  even  an  increase  of  glory :  let  him  be  ac- 
cursed." How  fully  this  doctrine  is  taught  by 
the  doctors  of  that  church,  many  have  declared, 
and  their  own  works  show.  The  authors  of  the 
notes  on  the  Romish  Testament  are  full  and  clear 
beyond  all  dispute,  and  almost  beyond  belief  in 


PAPISTS    IMITATE    THE    PHARISEES.  45 

maintaining  these  views,  and  pushing  them  to  the 
utmost  extremes. 

Such  a  religious  system  will  naturally  have 
friends  among  various  classes  of  persons.  All, 
who  are  indolent  and  have  no  heart  to  work  out 
their  own  salvation,  will  be  very  glad  to  employ 
some  one  to  be  their  agent,  to  negotiate  salvation 
for  them.  All,  who  dislike  spiritual  worship  and 
vital  godliness,  will  find  relief  in  such  a  system  as 
has  been  portrayed.  In  short,  the  mass  of  igno- 
rance, vice,  superstition  and  folly  ever  existing  in 
large  communities  will,  at  least  for  a  season,  be 
pleased  with  some  things  in  Popery.  Many  will 
praise  them  for  one  thing,  and  many  for  another. 
Like  the  Pharisees,  they  will  by  many  be  regarded 
as  on  the  high  road  to  heaven. 

It  would  have  been  easy  to  trace  these  resem- 
blances between  Popery  and  the  old  Jewish  errors 
much  further.  But  enough  has  been  said  to  show 
their  substantial  agreement,  and  especially  their 
utter  contrariety  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the 
Word  of  God  that  liveth  and  abideth  forever. 
The  resemblance  between  Pharisaism  in  the  Jew- 
ish Church  and  in  the  Papal  communion  having 
been  briefly  traced,  other  things  will  now  claim 
our  atteution. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PAPISTS  GO  BEYOND  THE  PHARISEES,  AND  ARE  HOS- 
TILE TO  THE  FREE  USE  AND  GENERAL  CIRCULATION 
OF     GOD'S    WORD. 

The  church  of  Rome  quite  outstrips  the  old 
Pharisees,  in  taking  away  the  key  of  knowledge. 
So  far  as  we  learn  they  never  discouraged  any 
one  from  owning  or  reading  the  Scriptures.  But 
she  is  hostile  to  their  free  use  and  general  circu- 
lation. This  is  a  grave  charge,  but  it  is  not 
rashly  made.  If  it  is  true,  it  is  not  uncharitable 
to  believe  and  publish  it.  That  it  is  true  shall 
now  be  proven. 

There  is  no  fair  ground  of  dispute  between 
Protestants  and  Romanists,  respecting  the  lawful- 
ness of  translating  the  Scriptures  out  of  the  origi- 
nal languages.  Most  men  concede  that  Jesus 
Christ,  and  all  agree  that  his  Apostles  freely 
quoted  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament, 
called  the  Septuagint.  If  Protestants  have  Lu- 
ther's and  King  James's  Bibles,  Papists  have  the 
Do  way  Bible  in  English,  and  Martini's  in  Italian. 
There  cannot  therefore  be  any  fair  ground  of  dis- 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  4*7 

pute  between  Protestants  and  Romanists,  respect- 
ing the  lawfulness  of  making  translations  out  of 
the  Hebrew  and  Greek  into  the  vernacular  lan- 
guages of  the  nations.  The  Yulgate  itself,  when 
made,  was  a  translation  into  the  vernacular  of  the 
great  mass  of  the  then  existing  generation. 

Both  Romanists  and  Protestants  have  made 
translations,  though  the  latter  have  made  many 
more  than  the  former.  But  in  allowing  and  doing 
it  at  all,  Papists  have  conceded  the  principle. 
Alphonsus  a  Castro  says,  "  Fatemur  sacros  libros 
olim  in  linguam  vulgarem  fuisse  translatos." 
''We  confess  that  formerly  the  holy  books  were 
translated  into  the  vulgar  tongue."  In  a  discus- 
sion with  Protestants,  perhaps  but  few  Romish 
doctors  would  refuse  to  concede  as  much ;  but 
where  Popery  has  undisputed  sway,  it  is  different. 
Azorius  maintains  that  it  is  a  heresy  to  say  that 
the  Scriptures  ought  to  be  translated  into  vulgar 
languages,  yet  even  he  admits  that  "all  were  al- 
lowed to  read  the  Scriptures  for  several  cen- 
turies." 

Many  things  may  be  found  in  the  writings  of 
high  authorities  in  the  Romish  church,  which  at 
first  sight  look  like  a  desire  to  bring  the  Bible 
into  common  use.  Thus  in  the  Ursuline  Manual, 
"approved  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Hughes," 
of  New  York,  it  is  said,  "  The  New  Testament, 


48  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  the  Introduction  to  a  De- 
vout Life,  the  Imitation  of  Christ,  the  Spiritual 
Combat,  the  Think  Well  OnH,  and  the  Characters 
of  Real  Devotion,  are  works  from  which  young 
persons  may  undoubtedly  draw  the  two  great  be- 
nefits to  be  derived  from  spiritual  reading,  viz., 
instruction  in  the  maxims  of  virtue,  and  encourage- 
ment for  reducing  those  maxims  to  practice." 

At  the  first  glance  this  has  a  plausible  appear- 
ance. But  you  will  observe  that  while  the  New 
Testament  is  mentioned,  not  a  word  is  said  of  any 
part  of  the  Old  Testament.  "Why  must  Moses, 
and  David,  and  Solomon,  and  Isaiah,  and  all  the 
old  prophets  be  thus  ignored  ?  Did  not  all  of 
them  say  things  savory  and  wholesome  ?  Did 
not  Solomon  address  large  portions  of  his  writings 
to  the  young  ?  And  is  it  not  intolerable  that 
such  miserable  fables,  as  abound  in  those  books, 
called  "  The  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  should  be  al- 
lowed to  supplant  and  supersede  the  sublime 
teachings  of  Moses,  the  admirable  and  holy  songs 
of  David,  the  proverbial  wisdom  of  Solomon,  and 
the  hallowed  fire  and  evangelical  prophecies  of 
Isaiah  ?     What  is  the  chaff  to  the  wheat  ? 

But  the  key  of  rightly  interpreting  this  seeming 
recommendation  of  a  portion  of  Holy  Scripture, 
is  to  be  found  on  the  same  page,  where  among 
the  "means  necessary  for  promoting  immediate 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  49 

sanctification,"  the  first,  which  is  stated,  is  "the 
advice  of  a  director,  which  is  necessary  to  all 
Christians,  but  indispensably  requisite  for  youth." 
So,  after  all,  even  the  New  Testament  is  good  for 
young  people  only  when  the  priest  recommends 
it,  and  how  often  he  does  that  may  be  inferred 
from  the  great  scarcity  of  Bibles  in  the  families  of 
Romanists,  even  in  this  country.  In  purely  Pa- 
pal lands  are  millions  of  adults,  who  never  owned 
nor  read  one  book  of  the  New  Testament ;  yet 
they  were  encouraged  to  read  the  Lives  of  the 
Saints. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  charge  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  is,  and  for  a  long  time  has  been, 
hostile  to  the  free  use  and  general  circulation  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures. 

At  the  very  threshold  of  the  discussion  some 
remarkable  facts  present  themselves.  One  is,  that 
although  for  more  than  three  centuries  the  church 
cf  Rome  has  been  engaged  in  missions,  and 
boasts  of  converts  among  more  than  sixty  differ- 
ent tribes  of  heathen,  yet  in  all  that  time  her  mis- 
sionaries have  not,  it  is  believed,  translated  the 
Word  of  God  into  the  language  of  any  of  these 
people.  If  there  be  an  exception,  it  has  as  yet 
eluded  a  pretty  diligent  search.  Is  it  not  strange 
that  men  should  avowedly  go  forth  to  spread  the 
knowledge  of  Christianity,  and  yet  never  let  peo- 
5 


50  ROME    AGAINST   THE   BIBLE. 

pie  see  the  documents  on  which  that  system  of 
truth  depends  ?  These  missionaries  do  translate 
other  books.  Why  do  they  thus  pass  by  God's 
Word  ?  Does  not  this  look  like  an  intentional 
slight,  a  uniform  hostility  to  the  Bible  ? 

Another  striking  fact  that  meets  us  is,  that 
there  is  not  now  known  to  be  one  Popish  Bible 
Society  on  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  nor  a  single 
dignitary  of  that  communion  engaged  in  promot- 
ing the  objects  of  such  institutions.  Here  is 
something  more  than  curious :  Methodists,  Bap- 
tists, Independents,  Episcopalians,  Lutherans, 
Friends,  Moravians,  Presbyterians,  and  even 
thousands,  who  belong  to  no  communion,  but  are 
merely  friends  of  man  and  of  liberty,  are  very  de- 
sirous that  all  the  people  should  have  God's  pure 
word.  But  the  authorities  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  never  send  out,  nor  encourage  others  in 
sending  out  the  Bible  in  the  vulgar  tongue  with- 
out note  or  comment.  They  never  send  out 
agents  to  distribute  the  Scriptures,  even  when 
they  have  many  notes,  and  never  speak  a  word  of 
encouragement  to  those  who  do  these  things.  The 
consequence  is  that  while  you  can  get  all  over 
this  land  a  copy  of  our  common  English  Bible 
for  twenty-five  cents,  or  even  less,  a  copy  of  the 
Doway  Bible  costs  much  more,  often  four  or  five 
times  that  sum.      Romanists  have  societies  for 


PAPISTS    GO  BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  51 

other  objects,  such  as  buying  cups,  boxes  for  the 
holy  wafer,  rosaries,  or  strings  of  beads,  and  cru- 
cifixes "for  their  converts."  The  priests  of  this 
country  have  sent  forth  some  very  earnest  appeals 
to  their  brethren  in  Austria  and  elsewhere,  to 
send  them  such  like  gew-gaws,  or  money  with 
which  to  buy  them.  But  who  has  ever  seen  a 
petition  from  a  priest  of  Rome  to  his  distant 
brethren,  to  send  him  a  good  supply  of  Bibles,  or 
money  to  buy  them,  to  be  given  to  the  ignorant 
or  the  learned  ? 

How  can  this  be  accounted  for,  except  on  the 
ground  that  Romish  priests  do  not  like  the  Bible  ? 
It  makes  their  people  ask  hard  questions,  encour- 
ages them  to  think  for  themselves,  and  finally 
converts  them  to  Protestantism.  There  never 
was,  there  is  not  now,  and  there  never  will  be  a 
nation  of  Bible-reading  Papists.  The  teachings 
of  God's  word  and  Papal  dogmas,  are  at  per- 
petual and  irreconcilable  war.  When  the  editor 
of  the  Freeman's  Journal  recently  said:  "With 
an  Italian,  the  possession  of  a  Protestant  Bible 
with  the  pretence  of  reading  it,  is  a  sure  sign  that 
he  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  secret  revolutionary 
clubs,  and  a  conspirator  against  the  State,"  what 
a  confession  did  he  make  concerning  the  enor- 
mous corruptions  of  those  governments,  the  eyes 


52  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

of  whose  people  are  opened  by  the  simple  word 
of  God ! 

Another  fact  is,  that  Romanists  oppose  the 
reading  of  the  Scripture  in  Schools.  This  oppo- 
sition is  not  only  to  our  translation,  but  it  is  to 
any  translation  whatever.  In  the  "  Pastoral  Let- 
ter" of  1840,  sent  out  from  Baltimore  by  the 
highest  authorities  of  that  communion  in  this 
land,  in  general  council  assembled,  these  words 
occur :  "  We  are  disposed  to  doubt,  seriously, 
whether  the  introduction  of  this  sacred  volume  as 
an  ordinary  class-book  into  schools,  is  beneficial 
to  religion."  Soon  they  wax  more  bold,  and  say : 
"  If  the  authorized  version  be  used  in  a  school,  it 
should  be  under  circumstances  very  different  from 
those  which  are  usually  found  in  the  public  insti- 
tutions of  our  States."  There  is  a  great  variety 
of  "  public  institutions  in  our  States,"  yet,  accord- 
ing to  this  pastoral  letter,  none  of  them  "usually 
found,"  are  fit  to  have  the  Word  of  God;  nay, 
the  children  shall  not  have  even  the  Doway  Bible, 
with  its  notes  and  comments,  and  bad  translation. 
Yes,  it  is  a  bad  translation.  In  Job,  xlii.  6,  of 
our  translation,  Job  says,  "  I  abhor  myself  and 
repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  In  the  Doway  it 
reads  thus  :  "  I  reprehend  myself  and  do  penance 
in  dust  and  ashes."  In  Matt.  iii.  2,  our  Bible 
says  :  "Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOXD    THE    PHARISEES.  53 

at  hand."  The  Doway  reads  :  "  Do  penance,  for 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  Then  a  note 
says :  "Do  penance.  Penitentiam  agite.  fxsra- 
tosctf.  Which  word,  according  to  the  use  of  the 
Scriptures  and  the  holy  fathers,  does  not  only 
signify  repentance  and  amendment  of  life,  but  also 
punishing  past  sins  by  fasting  and  such  like  peni- 
tential exercises."  Every  scholar  knows  how  er- 
roneous are  both  this  translation  and  this  note. 
In  Luke  xv.  1,  our  Bible  reads  :  "  joy  shall  be  in 
heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  In  the 
Doway  Bible  it  is,  "  There  shall  be  joy  in  heaven 
upon  one  sinner  that  doeth  penance."  So  obvi- 
ously is  our  translation  correct  in  this  case  that 
in  2  Tim.  ii.  25,  even  the  Doway  Bible  renders  the 
noun  of  the  same  derivation,  "Repentance."  In 
Heb.  xi.  21,  our  translation  reads:  "By  faith, 
Jacob,  when  he  was  dying,  blessed  both  the  sons 
of  Joseph  ;  and  worshiped,  leaning  upon  the  top 
of  his  staff."  In  the  Doway  it  reads  :  "By  faith, 
Jacob,  when  he  was  dying,  blessed  each  of  the 
sons  of  Joseph  ;  and  worshiped  the  top  of  his 
rod,"  meaning  Joseph's  rod.  A  note  says,  that 
Jacob  paid  "a  relative  honor  to  the  top  of  the 
rod  or  sceptre  of  Joseph,  as  to  a  figure  of  Christ's 
sceptre  and  kingdom. "  Yet  with  these  and  many 
other  perversions  of  God's  word  in  favor  of 
Popery,  found  in  the  Doway  Bible,  these  Ameri- 
5* 


54  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

can  bishops  "doubt  seriously,"  not  jestingly, 
whether  children  ought  to  have  it ;  nay,  they  are 
pretty  confident  that  if  used  at  all  in  school,  it 
must  be  in  some  institution  different  from  those 
we  usually  have  in  the  United  States.  Is  this 
fulfilling  Christ's  command  to  Peter,  "  Feed  my 
lambs  ?" 

The  Metropolitan  Magazine,  published  in  Balti- 
more, May,  1853,  says  :  "We  must  be  permitted 
to  observe  here  also,  that  there  is  a  special  folly, 
and  a  special  disregard  for  the  respect  due  to 
the  sacred  book,  in  insisting,  as  the  Biblicals  do, 
that  it  [the  Bible]  shall  be  used  as  a  school- 
book."  It  then  quotes,  with  approbation,  Ben- 
jamin Martin,  who  censures  the  "putting  of  the 
sacred  book  into  the  hands  of  every  bawling 
school-mistress,  and  of  thoughtless  children,  to 
he  torn,  trampled  upon,  and  made  the  early  ob- 
ject of  their  aversion,  by  being  their  most  tedi- 
ous task  and  their  punishment."  A  bawling 
woman  is  not  fit  to  be  a  school-mistress  with  or 
without  the  Bible.  Nor  is  the  holy  book  put 
into  the  hands  of  children  to  be  torn  and  trampled 
upon,  much  less  as  a  punishment  to  them.  But 
such  quotations  show  the  virulence  of  those  who 
make  them  towards  the  volume  of  inspiration. 

One  would  think  this  was  going  far  enough. 
But  they  stop  not  here.     The  Bible   must  not 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  55 

be  read  by  any  class  of  persons  found  in  any 
country.  In  the  Doway  Bible,  printed  in  1840, 
and  approved  by  Archbishop  Eccleston  of  Balti- 
more, and  by  Bishops  Connell  and  Kenrick  of 
Philadelphia,  and  by  Bishop  Hughes  of  New 
York,  we  find  the  same  hostility  to  its  free  use. 
When  I  first  saw  it,  I  said  :  Surely  now,  if  these 
men  approve  the  translation  as  correct,  the  people, 
at  least  the  grown  people,  may  indiscriminately 
buy  and  read  it.  No  !  In  the  third  page  of  the 
book,  just  following  the  recommendations,  and 
before  a  verse  of  the  Bible  is  reached,  there  is 
printed  what  is  called  the  "ADMONITION," 
in  which  are  these  words  :  "It  was  judged  neces- 
sary to  forbid  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  in 
the  vulgar  languages,  without  the  advice  and  per- 
mission of  the  pastors  and  spiritual  guides  whom 
G-od  has  appointed  to  govern  his  church.  Nor  is 
this  due  submission  to  the  Catholic  Church  to 
be  understood  of  the  ignorant  and  unlearned 
only,  but  also  of  men  accomplished  in  all  kind  of 
learning." 

Here  then  is  a  Bible,  approved  as  correct  in 
the  translation,  in  the  notes  and  comments,  and 
in  the  typography,  and  yet  before  we  reach  the 
first  verse  of  Genesis  we  are  admonished  that  we 
must  not  read  it  at  all  without  permission  from 
Rome,  or  from  her  emissaries.     Nor  is  this  pro- 


56  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

hibitiou  confined  to  the  ignorant  people.  It  ex- 
tends also  to  "  men  accomplished  in  all  kind  of 
learning." 

Is  not  here  a  marvellous  thing  ?  This  is  all 
published  in  the  nineteenth  century,  and  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  If  one  had  read  in 
the  title-page  of  an  old  manuscript  volume  the 
same  admonition,  and  the  date  at  Naples,  Lisbon, 
or  Rome,  1340,  it  would  not  have  sounded  so 
strange.  But  it  is  published  in  Philadelphia  in 
1840,  in  plain  English,  by  Romish  Bishops,  that 
the  most  learned  men  in  the  nation  must  not  read 
the  very  Bible  approved  by  themselves  without 
permission.  In  reading  it,  I  have  been  doing  so 
without  permission.  Is  it  a  mortal  sin  ?  Can 
any  man  bring  his  mind  to  embrace  the  opinion, 
that  Milton,  Locke,  Bacon,  Hale,  Washington, 
and  Marshall  could  not  lawfully  read  the  Scrip- 
tures without  getting  permission  from  some  poor, 
erring  worm  of  the  dust  ?  Who  is  any  ecclesias- 
tic, that  he  should  step  in  between  man  and  his 
Maker's  laws,  between  man  and  the  promises  of 
the  Gospel  ?  If  this  is  not  taking  away  the  key 
of  knowledge,  what  is  ? 

Nor  is  this  all.  Papists  not  only  have  no  Bible 
Societies  of  their  own,  but  they  make  war  on 
those  which  are  formed  by  other  people.  Pope 
Leo   XIL,    in   his  Encyclical  Letter,  dated   at 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  5T 

Rome,  May  3d,  1824,  addressing  the  dignitaries 
of  his  own  communion,  says:  "You  are  aware, 
venerable  Brethren,  that  a  certain  Society,  com- 
monly called  the  Bible  Society,  strolls  with  auda- 
city throughout  the  world  ;  which  Society,  con- 
temning the  traditions  of  the  Holy  Fathers,  and 
contrary  to  the  well-known  decree  of  the  Council 
of  Trent,  labors  with  all  its  might  to  translate, 
or  rather  pervert  the  Holy  Bible  into  the  vulgar 
languages  of  every  nation  :  from  which  proceed- 
ing, it  is  greatly  to  be  feared,  that  what  is  ascer- 
tained to  have  happened  as  to  some  passages, 
may  also  occcur  with  regard  to  others,  to  wit : 
that  by  a  perverse  interpretation  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  be  turned  into  a  human  Gospel,  or  what 
is  still  worse,  into  the  Gospel  of  the  Devi]  [dia- 
boli.]  To  avert  this  plague  [pestem]  our  pre- 
decessors published  many  ordinances  ;  and  in  his 
latter  days,  Pius  YIL,  of  blessed  memory,  sent 
two  briefs,  one  to  Ignatius,  Bishop  of  Gnesen,  the 
other  to  Stanislaus,  Archbishop  to  Mohilow ;  in 
which  are  mauy  proofs,  accurately  and  wisely  col- 
lected from  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  from  Tra- 
dition, to  show  how  noxious  this  most  wicked 
novelty  is  both  to  faith  and  morals.  We  also, 
venerable  Brethren,  in  conformity  to  our  apos- 
tolic duty,  exhort  you  to  turn  away  your  flock 
by  all  means  [omnimodo]  from  these  poisonous 


53  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

[lethiferis]  pastures.  Reprove,  beseech,  be  in- 
stant in  season  and  out  of  season,  in  all  patience 
and  doctrine,  that  the  faithful,  intrusted  to  you, 
adhering  strictly  to  the  rules  of  our  congregation 
of  "the  Index,  be  persuaded,  that  if  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  be  everywhere  published,  more  evil 
than  advantage  will  arise  thence,  on  account  of 
the  rashness  of  men." 

Thus  spoke  Leo  XII.  in  1824.  The  brief  of 
Pius  VII.  to  Ignatius  referred  to  above  calls  the 
Bible  Society  "  a  most  crafty  device,  by  which 
the  very  foundations  of  religion  are  undermined," 
a  "  pestilence  "  and  "  defilement  of  the  faith  most 
dangerous  to  souls." 

Gregory  XYI.  sang  the  same  song.  Indeed 
he  seems  to  have  been  peculiarly  afflicted  by  the 
existence  and  labors  of  Bible  Societies  and  kin- 
dred institutions,  for  he  closes  one  of  his  bulls  on 
the  subject  with  the  words  :  "We  are  in  sorrow 
both  by  night  and  by  day." 

And  to  come  to  the  present  time — Pio  Nono 
thus  delivers  himself  on  the  same  subject : 
"Among  the  various  insidious  measures  of  which 
the  malicious  enemies  of  the  church,  and  of  so- 
ciety, endeavor  to  avail  themselves  for  seducing 
the  people,  one  may  be  specified  as  more  spe- 
cially prominent,  which  they  find  eminently 
adapted  to  their  wicked  designs,  namely,  the  re- 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  59 

cent  improvement  in  tlte  art  of  printing.  Accord- 
ingly they  busy  themselves  in  publishing  pro- 
fane, lying  journals  and  pamphlets  teeming  with 
falsehoods,  which  they  assiduously  circulate  in 
multiplied  editions.  Hence  too,  at  the  instiga- 
gation  and  with  the  aid  of  Bible  Societies ,  which 
have  been  denounced  again  and  again  by  the  Holy 
See,  they  have  the  hardihood  to  carry  on  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  translated  con- 
trary to  the  rules  of  the  church,  in  the  vulgar 
tongue,  and  most  wretchedly  perverted;  and, 
with  a  wicked  and  almost  incredible  effrontery, 
they  scruple  not,  under  the  name  of  religion,  to 
recommend  them  to  the  careful  perusal  of  the 
faithful.  From  all  this  you  will  understand,  most 
venerable  brethren,  with  what  vigilance  and  soli- 
citude it  behooves  you  to  act,  so  that  the  faithful 
under  your  charge  may  be  put  upon  their  guard 
against  the  poison,  which  cannot  fail  to  be  im- 
bibed by  the  reading  of  such  books ;  and  may  be 
earnestly  reminded,  with  especial  reference  to  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  that  no  person,  whatever,  is  war- 
ranted to  confide  in  his  own  judgment,  as  to  their 
true  meaning,  if  opposed  to  the  Holy  Mother 
Church,  who  alone,  and  no  other,  has  received  the 
commission  from  Christ  to  watch  over  the  faith 
committed  to  her  trust,  and  to  decide  upon  the 
true  sense  and  interpretation  of  the  Sacred  Writ- 


GO  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

nigs."  All  this  seems  intelligible  and  unmis- 
takable. 

We  have  here  the  reigning  Pope  making  open 
war  on  the  free  use  and  general  circulation  of 
God's  Word.  As  to  the  charge  of  mis-transla- 
tions, it  may  be  replied  that  this  is  not  the  real 
ground  of  objection  among  Papists  to  Bible  Soci- 
eties, else  they  would  zealously  circulate  what 
they  esteem  correct  translations.  Besides,  none 
of  our  translations  are  as  bad  as  the  Yulgate  or  the 
Doway.  None  of  them  so  far  vary  from  the  obvi- 
ous sense  of  the  original.  Let  any  scholar  com- 
pare them  and  judge.  Moreover,  as  to  the  essen- 
tials of  salvation,  we  find  them  in  all  the  versions 
yet  given,  not  excepting  the  Yulgate  and  Doway. 

On  this  snbject  we  may  safely  say  with  Walton, 
Bochartus,  Buxtorf,  Gerard,  Michaelis  and  others, 
that  there  are  variations  in  the  translations,  as  there 
are  also  in  the  ancient  manuscripts  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, but  these  differences  do  not  destroy  a  single 
doctrine  of  Scripture,  do  not  set  aside  a  single  duty 
of  practical  religion,  do  not  present  any  doctrine 
to  our  belief  that  cannot  be  disproven  by  the  same 
translation.  I  have  compared  many  translations 
of  the  third  chapter  of  John's  Gospel,  beginning 
with  the  Vulgate,  and  I  am  not  able  to  say  which 
impressed  the  saving  truths  it  contains  in  the 
most  affecting  manner. 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  61 

Some  years  since  there  was  published  in  Eng- 
land a  document  entitled,  "Declaration  of  the 
Catholic  Bishops,  the  Vicars  Apostolic,  and  their 
coadjutors  in  Britain,"  in  which  it  is  declared 
that  the  unauthorized  reading  and  circulation  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  the  interpretation  of  them  by 
private  judgment,  are  calculated  to  lead  men  to 
error  and  fanaticism  in  religion,  and  to  seditions 
and  the  greatest  disorders  in  States  and  King- 
doms." If  the  reading  and  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures,  "  are  calculated"  to  produce  such  evils, 
it  must  be  because  the  Word  of  God  breathes  a 
spirit  of  rebellion  and  contumacy — to  utter  which 
is  blasphemy  against  the  Almighty. 

As  there  are  many  more  proofs  of  the  truth  of 
this  charge,  preferred  against  the  Church  of 
Rome,  it  may  be  a  relief  to  the  reader  to  have 
them  presented  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED ADDITIONAL    PROOFS. 

As  the  charge  of  hostility  to  the  free  use  and 
general  circulation  of  God's  Word  is  one  of  the 
heaviest  that  can  be  brought  against  any  body  of 
professed  Christians,  it  ought  not  to  be  preferred 
unless  it  can  be  proven  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt.  Additional  evidence  is  therefore  given  in 
this  chapter. 

We  have  seen  a  Pope  referring  to  the  Council 
of  Trent,  which  is  the  highest  authority  that 
Romanists  acknowledge.  Hear  Trent :  "  Trans- 
lations of  the  Old  Testament  may  also  be  allowed, 
but  only  to  learned  and  pious  men,  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  Bishop ;  provided  they  use  them 
merely  as  elucidations  of  the  Vulgate  version,  in 
order  to  understand  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  not 
as  the  sacred  text  itself.  But  translations  of  the 
New  Testament  made  by  authors  of  the  first  class 
of  this  Index  are  allowed  to  no  one,  since  little 
advantage,  but  much  danger  generally  arises  from 
leading  them.  If  notes  accompany  the  versions, 
which  are  allowed  to  be  read,  or  are  joined  to  the 

(62) 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  63 

Vulgate  edition,  they  maybe  permitted  to  be  read 
by  the  same  persons  as  the  versions,  after  the  sus- 
pected places  have  been  expunged  by  the  theolo- 
gical faculty  of  some  Catholic  University,  or  by 
the  general  Inquisitor.  Inasmuch  as  it  is  mani- 
fest from  experience,  that  if  the  Holy  Bible, 
translated  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  be  indiscrimi- 
nately allowed  to  every  one,  the  temerity  of  men 
will  cause  more  evil  than  good  to  arise  from  it,  it 
is,  on  this  point,  referred  to  the  Bishops,  or 
Inquisitors,  who  may  by  the  advice  of  the  Priest 
or  confessor,  permit  the  reading  of  the  Bible, 
translated  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  by  Catholic 
authors,  to  those  persons,  whose  faith  and  piety, 
they  apprehend,  will  be  augmented,  and  not 
injured  by  it ;  and  this  permission  they  must  have 
in  writing.  But  if  any  one  shall  have  the  pre- 
sumption to  read  or  possess  it  without  such  writ- 
ten permission,  he  shall  not  receive  absolution 
until  he  have  first  delivered  up  such  Bible  to  the 
ordinary.  Booksellers,  however,  who  shall  sell, 
or  otherwise  dispose  of  Bibles  in  the  vulgar  tongue 
to  any  person,  not  having  such  permission,  shall 
forfeit  the  value  of  the  books,  to  be  applied  by 
the  Bishop  to  some  pious  use ;  and  be  subjected 
by  the  Bishop  to  such  other  penalties  as  the 
Bishop  shall  judge  proper,  according  to  the  qual- 
ity of  the    offence.     But   regulars   shall  neither 


64  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

read  nor  purchase  such  Bibles  without  a  special 
license  from  their  superiors." 

This  is  plain  enough.  Who  can  mistake  its 
import  ?  Trent  is  out  strongly  and  clearly 
against  the  free  use  of  God's  Word,  and  Trent 
was  the  last  general  council  of  the  church  of 
Rome.     Its  edicts  stand  unrepealed,  unmodified. 

Evidence  of  the  same  thing  is  found  almost 
everywhere  in  the  books  of  Romanists.  In  the 
"  Larger  Catechism  of  the  Most  Reverend  Dr. 
James  Butler,  to  which  is  added  the  Scriptural 
Catechism  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Milner,  the  whole 
approved  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Kenrick,"  now 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  and  printed  in  1841, 
on  pp.  81  and  82,  we  read  as  follows : 

Q.  Is  there  any  obligation  of  reading  the 
Scriptures  ? 

A.  The  Catholic  Clergy  are  required  to  read 
and  pray  out  of  it  every  day.  A  more  strict  ob- 
ligation of  studying  both  the  written  and  un- 
written Word  of  God,  lies  on  the  Pastors,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  inculcate  it  to  the  faithful.  But 
there  is  no  such  general  obligation  incumbent  on 
the  Laity  ;  it  being  sufficient  that  they  listen  to  it 
from  their  Pastors. 

Q.  Is  it  lawful  for  the  Laity  to  read  the  Holy 
Scriptures  ? 

A.  They  may  read  them  in  the  language  in 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE  PHARISEES.  65 

which  they  were  written,  as  likewise  in  the  an- 
cient Yulgate  translation,  which  the  Church 
vouches  to  be  authentic.  They  may  also  read 
them  in  approved  modern  versions  ;  but  with  due 
submission  to  the  interpretation  and  authority  of 
the  Church. 

Q.  Have  any  great  evils  ensued  from  an  unre- 
stricted reading  of  the  Bible,  in  vulgar  languages, 
by  the  unlearned  and  unstable  ? 

A.  Yes ;  numberless  heresies  and  impieties,  as 
also  many  rebellions  and  civil  wars. " 

This  Catechism  is  published  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa., 
by  George  Quigiey,  in  1841.  It  is  not  from  the 
press  of  Vienna  or  Madrid.  It  was  not  printed 
in  the  dark  ages. 

Victor  Hugo,  in  a  speech  made  about  the  year 
1848,  used  the  following  language  :  "There  is  a 
book — a  book  which  is  from  one  end  to  the  other 
of  superior  emanation — a  book  which  is  for  the 
whole  world  what  the  Koran  is  for  Islamism, 
what  the  Yedas  are  for  India — a  book  which  con- 
tains all  human  wisdom — a  book  which  the  vene- 
ration of  the  people  has  called  the  book — The 
Bible.  Ah  !  well ;  your  censure  "  (he  is  speaking 
of  the  Jesuits,)  "  has  mounted  up  even  to  that. 
An  unheard-of  thing  !  the  Popes  have  proscribed 
the  Bible  !  What  astonishment  for  wise  minds, 
what  terror  to  simple  hearts,  to  see  the  finger  of 
6* 


66  ROME   AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

Rome  put  upon  the  Book  of  God !"  In  like 
manner  we  might  record  the  outbursts  of  a  just 
indignation  on  this  point  from  the  lips  or  pens  of 
many  others,  who  have  felt  the  debasing  power  of 
Popery  at  work  all  around  them. 

When  we  examine  the  writings  of  the  most 
distinguished  theologians  of  the  Romish  Church, 
on  the  point  before  us,  we  find  their  teachings  in 
full  accordance  with  the  bulls  of  Popes  and  the 
decrees  of  Councils.  Indeed,  they  are  but  a 
repetition  of  the  same  monstrous  opinions  with 
here  and  there  an  attempt  to  justify  them  by  rea- 
soning. 

Thus  Ligori,  who  was  canonized  by  Pope 
Pius  VII.,  on  the  13th  of  December,  1816,  and 
who  stands  at  the  head  of  all  their  Theologians, 
says  :  In  the  Council  of  Toledo,  which  was  held 
A.  D.  1239,  the  laity,  of  whatsoever  rank  or  class 
they  might  be,  were  prohibited  from  having  in 
their  possession,  during  the  heresy,  any  book  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures  whatsoever,  except  the 
Psalter  and  the  Breviary."  He  also  says,  that 
the  Council  of  Bitterensis,  A.  D.  1245,  "prohi- 
bited the  translation  of  any  of  the  books  of  Scrip- 
ture into  the  vulgar  tongue.  The  same,"  he 
adds,  "  was  also  prohibited  by  the  councils  of 
Jerusalem,  Mechlin,  Camarace,  and  by  many 
other  Councils,  as  may  be  seen  in  a  work  pub- 


TAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  6t 

•  lished  at  Paris,  A.  D.  1661,  by  command  of  the 
clergy  of  France,  under  the  title  of  A  collection 
of  the  authors  who  have  expressly  condemned  the 
translation  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  into  the  vul- 
gar tongue."  He  also  refers  to  the  fourth  rule 
of  the  Index,  and  says  that  Pope  Clement  XL, 
condemned  the  79th  proposition  of  Quesnelle  ; 
which  maintained  that  "It  is  always  useful  and 
necessary  at  all  times  and  in  every  place,  and  for 
all  sorts  of  persons,  to  study  and  to  make  them- 
selves acquainted  with  the  spirit,  the  piety,  and 
the  mysteries  of  the  sacred  Scriptures." 

Peter  Dens,  whose  Theology  is  said  to  be  a 
text-book  at  Maynooth,  argues  at  length  to  the 
same  purport.  Having  quoted  the  fourth  rule  of 
the  Index,  he  says,  "  This  law  has  been  received 
and  hitherto  kept  (with  some  variation  on  account 
of  the  prevailing  spirit  of  some  regions,)  in,  by 
far,  the  greatest  part  of  the  Catholic  world.  More 
indulgence  has  been  granted,  only  when  it  was 
necessary  to  live  among  heretics."  And  he  calls 
special  attention  to  the  fact  that  "the  power  of 
granting  permission  to  read  the  sacred  Scriptures 
in  the  vernacular  tongue  belongs  to  the  bishop, 
or  inquisitor,  not  to  the  priest  or  confessor,  unless 
the  power  has  been  conceded  to  them."  And  he 
maintains  that  even  "the  reading  of  sacred  Scrip- 
tures in  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin,  must  be 


G8  ROME    AGAINST   THE   BIBLE. 

abstained  from,  if  through  defect  of  capacity  or 
disposition  of  the  mind,  it  would  be  of  evil  ten- 
dency." One  belonging  to  the  hierarchy,  is 
always,  of  course,  to  be  the  judge  of  such  ten- 
dency. 

The  fact,  stated  by  Dens,  that  in  purely  Papal 
countries,  the  law  of  prohibition  is  more  rigor- 
ously enforced,  than  where  there  is  some  mixture 
of  Protestantism,  is  certainly  true. 

The  Rev.  M.  Hobart  Seymour,  in  his  "  Morn- 
ings with  the  Jesuits,"  says  :  I  had  heard  that  it 
was  impossible  to  procure  a  copy  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  the  Italian  tongue.  *  *  I  wished 
to  ascertain  the  matter  for  my  own  information  ; 
I  had  gone  to  every  bookselling  establishment  in 
the  city  of  Rome.  *  *  I  found  that  the  Holy 
Scriptures  were  not  for  sale.  I  could  not  procure 
a  single  copy  in  the  Roman  language  and  of  a 
portable  size  in  the  whole  city  of  Rome  ;  and 
when  I  asked  each  bookseller  the  reason  of  his 
not  having  so  important  a  volume,  I  was  an- 
swered in  every  instance,  that  the  volume  was 
prohibited,  or  not  permitted  to  be  sold.  Marti- 
ni's edition  was  offered  to  me  in  two  places,  but 
it  was  in  twenty-four  volumes,  and  at  a  cost  of 
105  francs,  that  is,  four  pounds  sterling."  Many 
others  have  borne  a  like  testimony. 

Cardinal  Bellarmine  says:    "That  the  people 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  69 

would  not  only  get  no  good,  but  much  hurt  from 
the  Scriptures ;  for  they  would  easily  take  occa- 
sion of  erring  both  in  doctrines  of  faith,  and  in 
precepts  concerning  life  and  manners." 

The  council  of  Toulouse  holds  this  language  : 
"  We  strictly  forbid  the  Laity  to  have  the  books 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  the  vulgar 
tongue." 

Peresius  says  :  "  Shall  no  bounds  be  set  to 
popular,  rude,  and  carnal  men?  Shall  old  men, 
before  they  have  put  off  the  filth  of  their  mind,  and 
young  men,  that  yet  speak  like  children,  be  ad- 
mitted to  read  the  Scriptures  ?  I  suppose,  ve- 
rily, (and  my  opinion  fails  me  not)  this  ordinance, 
under  the  pretence  of  piety,  was  invented  by  the 
devil." 

Dr.  Milner,  in  his  "  End  of  Controversy,"  twice 
says,  that  Christ  wrote  no  part  of  the  Scriptures 
himself,  and  gave  no  orders  to  his  apostles  to 
write  it.  He  is  trying  to  show  that  we  are  not 
bound  to  read  the  word  of  God.  And  yet  in  a 
subsequent  portion  of  his  work  he  says  :  "  The 
Catholic  Clergy  must  and  do  employ  no  small 
portion  of  their  time  every  day  in  reading  dif- 
ferent portions  of  Holy  Writ."  [Xo  doubt  he 
calls  the  Breviary  Holy  Writ.]  "  But  no  such 
obligation  is  generally  incumbent  on  the  flock." 
Yet  he  says  :  "  The  Catholic  Church  never  did 


TO  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

prohibit  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  to  the 
Laity.''  But  he  durst  not  say  she  did  not  forbid 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  hy  the  Laity.  The 
priest  may  read  some  of  it  to  them  if  he  chooses, 
perhaps ;  but  he  is  not  going  to  read  the  whole 
of  God's  Word  to  the  people. 

A  few  years  ago,  Cardinal  Pacca,  who  held 
office  for  upwards  of  forty  years,  delivered  him- 
self thus  in  Rome  respecting  Bible  Societies  in 
France  :  "  Biblical  Societies  are  engaged  in  sow- 
ing with  a  profuse  hand  copies  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  Protestants  arm  themselves  with  new  hardi- 
hood." 

The  Protestant  world  has  long  looked  with 
great  charity  upon  the  character  and  actions  of 
Fenelon ;  yet  so  deeply  seated  are  the  prejudices 
of  the  Romish  priesthood  against  the  Bible,  that 
Fenelon  himself  was  led  into  the  same  error,  and 
in  his  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Arras,  as  published 
by  Romish  papers  in  this  country,  he  says  :  "  Ger- 
son  cannot  be  reproached  with  having  favored  the 
maxims  of  ultramontanists."  This  author  never- 
theless has  thus  written  :  "  It  is  from  this  pesti- 
lent fountain  that  have  issued,  and  that  daily 
increase  the  errors  of  the  Begards,  of  the  poor 
men  of  Lyons,  and  others  like  them,  among  whom 
many  laymen  produce  the  Bible  translated  into 
the  vulgar  tongue,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  Ca- 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  71 

tholic  truth.  It  is  this  which  it  has  been  pro- 
posed to  correct  by  the  project  of  a  reforma- 
tion." 

In  another  place  "the  translation  into  the  ver- 
nacular of  the  holy  books  should  be  prevented, 
especially  of  our  Bible,  except  the  moral  and 
historical  books." 

He  further  says :  "  It  is  a  thing  too  dangerous 
to  give  to  simple  persons  who  have  no  learning, 
the  books  of  Holy  Scripture  translated  into 
French,"  &c.  All  these  things  are  quoted  with 
approbation  by  Fenelon,  and  much  more  is  said 
by  him  in  confirmation  of  them. 

And  as  if  all  the  foregoing  proofs  were  insuffi- 
cient, "  The  Metropolitan,"  a  monthly  magazine, 
edited  by  a  Romish  Priest,  and  published  in  Bal- 
timore, has  come  out  on  the  same  side.  In  the 
'number  for  April,  1853,  is  an  extract  from 
Dixon's  Introduction,  which  had  previously  ap- 
peared in  another  magazine  across  the  water. 
The  following  sentiments  are  here  found  without 
any  qualification  :  "  The  practice  of  the  Christian 
Church,  at  all  times  upon  this  head,  has  been 
quite  irreconcilable  with  the  supposition,  that 
the  Founder  of  that  Church,  or  his  apostles,  im- 
posed any  obligation  upon  all  Christians,  gene- 
rally, to  read  the  Scriptures." .  .  .  .  "  The  private 
study  and  perusal  of  the  sacred  volume  has  never 


72  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

been  made  obligatory  upon  them"  [the  simple 
faithful.]  The  prohibitions  are  then  stated,  and  by 
whom  and  when  made.  And  "  this  discipline  "  is 
"  vindicated  "  at  length  in  the  number  of  the  Me- 
tropolitan for  May,  1853,  in  such  language  as 
this  :  "  In  the  first  place,  then,  we  lay  it  down  as 
certain,  that  no  divine  precept  exists,  imposing 
upon  the  laity  an  obligation  to  read  the  Scrip- 
ture." "  In  fine,  there  is  no  passage  of  Scripture 
in  which  it  is  expressed  or  implied,  that  all  Chris- 
tians are  under  an  obligation  of  reading  the 
Bible."  "  The  right  which  the  simple  faithful 
have  to  read  the  Scripture,  is  not  a  right  inde- 
pendent of  the  sanction  and  approval  of  the  pas- 
tors of  the  church." 

Such  are  some  of  the  proofs  of  the  hostility  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  to  the  free  use  and  general 
circulation  of  God's  Word.  They  might  easily 
have  been  multiplied.  Everywhere  you  find  in 
that  apostate  church  the  proofs  of  her  hatred  of 
the  free  use  of  Scripture.  Indeed  the  Church  of 
Home  does  not  stop  when  she  has  spoken  and  de- 
creed against  the  free  use  of  the  Bible. 

She  goes  yet  further,  and  well  merits  the  title 
of  the  Bible-burning  Church.  This  has  been  her 
character  for  centuries.  Her  gravest  doctors  de- 
fend this  Bible-burning.  Ligori  says  :  "  I  cannot 
comprehend  with  what  face  certain  persons  assert 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  13 

that  the  church  has  the  right  only  of  condemning 
bad  books,  but  not  the  right  of  prohibiting  or  of 
burning  them."  Here  is  the  doctrine.  What  is 
the  practice  under  it  ?  In  Llorente's  History  of 
the  Inquisition,  we  read  thus  on  p.  42  :  "In  1490, 
several  Hebrew  Bibles  and  books  written  by  Jews 
were  burnt  at  Seville."  On  p.  43  we  read  of  a 
period  about  sixty  years  later,  where,  speaking  of 
Pope  Julius  III.,  and  his  zeal  against  books,  he 
says  the  Pope  showed  his  zeal,  "  particularly 
against  Spanish  Bibles."  On  the  same  page  he 
tells  us  that  Carranza,  who  composed  the  cata- 
logue of  prohibited  books  for  the  Council  of  Trent, 
coming  into  England,  he  "caused  many  Bibles 
which  had  been  translated,  to  be  burned."  He 
immediately  adds,  "some  Bibles,  which  had  been 
introduced  into  Spain,  and  were  not  upon  the 
list,  were  also  prohibited."  On  p.  44,  he  says 
the  Supreme  Council  of  Spain,  in  1558,  "  decreed 
that  those  theologians  in  the  university,  who  had 
studied  the  Oriental  languages,  should  be  obliged, 
as  well  as  other  persons,  to  give  up  their  Hebrew 
and  Greek  Bibles  to  the  commissaries  of  the  Holy 
Office,  on  pain  of  excommunication."  Besides 
many  similar  things,  he  tells  us  on  p.  46,  that  Pe- 
rez del  Prado  thus  lamented  the  misfortunes  of 
his  age:  "That  some  individuals  had  carried 
their  audacity  to  the  execrable  extremity  of  de- 

i 


74  ROME    AGAINST     THE   BIBLE. 

manding  permission  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures 
in  the  vulgar  tongue,  without  fearing  to  encoun- 
ter mortal  poison  therein." 

But  this  Bible-burning  has  not  been  confined 
to  Spain,  Italy,  and  Ireland  ;  nor  to  centuries  long 
since  gone  by.  It  is  the  order  of  the  day  in  this 
century,  and  in  this  country.  I  have  seen  in  the 
hands  of  Rev.  J.  P.  Carter,  of  Maryland,  a  pam- 
phlet respecting  the  burning  of  Bibles  in  St.  Ma- 
ry's Co.,  in  that  State,  in  the  year  1819,  and 
have  been  permitted  to  copy  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  there  published,  written  by  the 
Rev.  Leonard  Edelen,  a  Roman  Catholic  priest, 
in  answer  to  a  letter  of  the  Rev.  John  Brady,  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  The  priest 
says,  "  Never  was  my  surprise  carried  to  a  higher 
pitch  than  on  finding,  in  these  enlightened  days, 
a  Protestant  minister  so  little  acquainted  with  the 
ancient  and  uniform  practice  of  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholic Church,  as  to  call  in  question  the  propriety 
of  her  pastors'  conduct,  for  prohibiting  those  en- 
trusted to  their  charge  from  the  perusal  of  Pro- 
testant Bibles,  and  other  heterodox  books.  Had 
you,  sir,  taken  a  deliberate  and  impartial  view  of 
the  past  ages  of  the  Christian  world,  you  would 
have  been  spared  the  trouble  of  writing  a  lengthy 
epistle  ;  you  must  soon  have  discovered  that  Ca- 
tholics,   although    exceedingly    numerous,    and 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  75 

spread  throughout  the  whole  known  world,  and 
differing  in  almost  every  thing  else,  in  their  coun- 
try, language,  customs,  laws,  government,  humors, 
interests,  and  often  at  war  with  each  other,  yet 
they  were  all  perfectly  united  in  faith  :  they  had 
the  same  books  and  sense  of  Scripture,  in  all  con- 
troverted points,  the  same  rule  for  expounding 
them  ;  in  fine,  one  and  the  same  supreme  judge  of 
controversies,  to  which  all  were  obliged  to  sub- 
mit. Hence,  sir,  you  might  have  inferred  why  I 
called  upon  Catholics  to  deliver  up  Protestant 
Bibles,  and  all  other  heretical  books  in  their  pos- 
session ;  and  why  I  was  determined  to  commit 
them  to  the  flames,  or  doom  them  to  destruction 
in  any  way  that  I  thought  proper  :"  pp.  6  and  7. 

It  is  true  this  priest  does  not  say  he  had  burned 
the  Bibles,  but  he  admits  that  he  had  "called 
upon  Catholics  to  deliver  up  Protestant  Bibles," 
and  that  he  "  was  determined  to  commit  them  to 
the  flames  or  doom  them  to  destruction  in  any 
way  that "  he  "  thought  proper."  It  is  not  pro- 
bable that  a  determination  so  boldly  avowed, 
finally  gave  way,  or  that  he  ever  restored  the 
Bibles  to  their  legal  owners. 

In  Nov.,  1842,  there  was  a  great  burning  of 
Bibles  by  Romish  Priests  at  a  protracted  meeting, 
which  they  held  at  the  Carbo,  in  the  township  and 
county  of  Champlain  N.  T.     Hundreds  of  copies 


76  HOME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

of  God's  "Word  were  by  these  men  piled  together 
and  burned.  And  still  more  recently  in  Mexico, 
N.  Y.,  a. Romish  Priest  gathered  all  the  Bibles  he 
could  collect  from  Romanists  and  burned  them. 
Americans  will  understand  these  people  after  a 
while.  The  only  persons  in  this  land,  who  burn 
Bibles  are  Papists.  Even  Atheists,  Infidels,  and 
Mormons  refrain  from  burning  God's  word,  but 
Romanists  put  it  in  the  fire.  This  work  of 
burning  Bibles,  so  far  as  we  know,  was  begun  by 
the  heathen  persecutor,  Antiochus.  It  was  after- 
wards taken  up  by  that  monster  of  depravity, 
Dioclesian.  Since  his  time  the  trade  has  been 
chiefly  carried  on  by  the  Pope,  his  Inquisitors  and 
myrmidons. 

I  set  out  to  prove  that  the  Church  of  Rome  is 
and  for  a  long  time  has  been,  hostile  to  the  free 
use  and  general  circulation  of  God's  word.  Doc- 
uments old  and  new,  European  and  American, 
have  been  submitted  to  you.  You  must  judge  of 
their  relevancy  and  weight.  To  my  mind  they 
are  conclusive  and  overwhelming,  and  establish 
the  charge  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt.  The 
Church  of  Rome,  as  far  as  she  can,  excludes 
every  Bible  from  the  schools,  she  denounces  all 
Bible  Societies,  she  puts  the  flaming  sword  of  her 
own  prohibitory  authority  before  the  first  verse 
of  Genesis,  warning  all  her  people  not  to  read 


PAPISTS    GO    BEYOND    THE    PHARISEES.  77 

her  own  translations  without  permission.  She 
is  a  Bible-hating,  Bible-burning  Church.  iShe 
has  long  been  and  still  is  so.  She  has  taken 
away  the  key  of  knowledge.  When  her  child- 
ren ask  bread  she  gives  them  a  stone;  when 
they  ask  an  egg,  she  gives  them  a  scorpion. 
When  they  long  for  God's  holy  word,  she  gives 
them  cart-loads  of  traditions,  silly  fables,  bulls, 
extravagants,  encyclical  letters,  rosaries,  cruci- 
fixes, and  such  like  ware.     Cruel,  cruel  Rome  ! 


7* 


CHAPTER  V. 

THIS  OPPOSITION  IS  UNREASONABLE  AND  UNSCRIPTURAL. 

It  shall  now  be  shown  that  this  hostility  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  to  the  free  use  and  general 
circulation  of  the  Scriptures  is  unreasonable  and 
unscriptural.  One  of  our  countrymen  has  well 
said :  "I  wonder,  and  have  always  wondered  that 
the  Catholics,  in  prohibiting  the  free  use  and  cir- 
culation of  the  Scriptures,  did  not  except  St. 
Peter's  epistles.  Was  ever  any  Catholic  forbidden 
to  read  the  letters  of  a  Pope !  I  believe  not. 
But  if  they  may  and  should  read  the  Encyclical 
Letters  of  the  Popes,  why  not  let  them  read  the 
1  General  Epistles'  of  the  first  of  Popes,  Peter  ? 
Why  is  it  any  more  criminal  to  read  the  letters 
of  Pope  Peter  than  those  of  Pope  Gregory  ?  I 
cannot  explain  this." 

Such  conduct  is  the  more  inexplicable  when 
we  look  at  the  epistles  of  Peter.  In  the  Doway 
Bible  a  note  prefixed  to  the  first  epistle  says : 
"  This  Epistle,  though  brief,  contains  much  doc- 
trine concerning  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity,  with 
divers  instructions  to  all  persons,  of  what  state  or 

(78) 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  79 

condition  soever.  The  apostle  commands  sub- 
mission to  rulers  and  superiors ;  and  exhorts  all 
to  the  practice  of  a  virtuous  life,  in  imitation  of 
Christ.  This  epistle  is  written  with  such  apostol- 
ical dignity  as  to  manifest  the  supreme  authority 
with  which  its  writer,  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles, 
had  been  invested  by  his  Lord  and  Master  Jesus 
Christ.  He  wrote  it  at  Rome,  which  figuratively 
he  calls  Babylon,  about  fifteen  years  after  our 
Lord's  ascension." 

Now  if  the  epistle  is  very  fine  on  "faith, 
hope,  and  charity,"  why  not  let  the  people  have 
it,  especially  as.it  is  confessedly  addressed  to  "all 
persons  of  what  state  or  condition  soever  ?"  And 
if  it  proves,  as  here  stated,  the  supremacy  of 
Peter,  why  not  send  it  broad-cast  over  the  world 
by  the  aid  of  bulls  and  bishops  ? 

As  to  any  "  supreme  authority  "  claimed  in  this 
epistle  by  Peter,  there  is  nothing  farther  from 
him.  In  chap-  v.  1,  he  says,  in  our  translation, 
"  The  elders  which  are  among  you  I  exhort,  who 
am  also  an  elder."  This  is  far  from  all  arro- 
gancy.  He  could  not  more  effectually  renounce 
all  right  and  desire  to  lord  it  over  God's  heritage. 
The  words  translated  elders  and  elder  in  the  text 
above  cited  are  literally  "presbyters"  and  "co- 
presbyter." 

As  to  the  second  epistle,  Peter  expressly  says, 


80  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

in  the  15th  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  that  he 
wrote  it  that  after  his  decease,  his  views  on  reli- 
gion might  be  in  possession  of  the  Church.  In 
the  Do  way  Bible,  that  verse  reads  thus  :  "  I  will 
endeavor  that  you  frequently  have,  after  my  de- 
cease, whereby  you  may  keep  a  memory  of  these 
things."  Why  do  not  Papists  aid  so  praise- 
worthy an  endeavor  ?  Indeed  the  note  prefixed 
admits  it  was  written  just  before  his  martyrdom. 
Surely  a  Pope  about  to  die,  and  giving  his  views 
in  this  way,  might,  one  would  think,  be  allowed 
to  speak. 

But  no  !  The  Romish  Church  does  not  freely 
circulate,  even  Peter's  Epistles.  I  wish  they 
would.  Perhaps  the  reason  why  they  do  not  is, 
that  he  very  earnestly  recommends  that  his  breth- 
ren should  attend  to  God's  word  with  much 
care.  His  language  is  very  explicit.  Even  the 
Do  way  translation  is  very  strong  :  "  We  have  the 
word  of  prophecy  more  firm :  to  which  you  do 
well  to  attend,  as  to  a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place 
until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  morning  star  rise  in 
your  hearts."  This  prophecy  here  spoken  of, 
means  either  all  Scripture  in  general,  or  it  means 
specifically  those  portions  of  Scripture,  which 
contain  predictions  of  future  events,  and  which 
are  confessedly  the  most  difficult  parts  of  revela- 
tion to  be  understood.    Yet  Peter  says,  "  You  do 


THIS    OPPOSITION   UNJUSTIFIABLE.  81 

well  to  attend  to  the  worel  of  prophecy  more 
firm  :  to  which  you  do  well  to  attend,  as  to  a 
light  shining  in  a  dark  place  until  the  day  dawn, 
and  the  morning  star  rise  in  your  hearts."  This 
epistle  is  general,  and  calls  upon  God's  people 
without  distinction  to  attend  unto  the  word  of 
prophecy.  Would  that  Pio  Nono  would  say  as 
much,  and  not  oppose  Bible  Societies. 

It  will  save  time  to  say,  that  the  Do  way  Bible 
is  here  and  elsewhere,  in  this  discourse,  freely 
quoted,  that  no  advantage  may  seem  to  be  taken 
by  the  translation  used,  and  thus  an  outcry  be 
made  by  Romanists  of  erroneous  renderings  of 
the  sacred  text. 

Another  thing  is  very  wonderful,  that  in  her 
hostility  to  the  free  use  of  the  Bible  generally, 
the  Church  of  Rome  does  not  except  Paul's 
epistle  to  the  Romans.  According  to  the  Doway 
version,  it  is  expressly  addressed  "to  all  that  are 
at  Rome,  the  beloved  of  God,  called  to  be 
saints."  And  yet  at  this  very  day,  no  book  is 
more  inaccessible  to  the  masses  of  the  people  in 
the  city  of  Rome,  than  this  very  epistle  of  Paul 
to  the  Romans.  How  is  this  to  be  accounted 
for? 

In  a  note  prefixed  in  the  Doway  Bible  it  is 
said :  "  It  was  written  in  Greek ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  translated  into  Latin,  for  the  benefit 


82  ROUE    AGAIXST    THE    BIBLE. 

of  those  who  did  not  understand  that  language. 
And  though  it  is  not  the  first  of  his  epistles,  in 
the  order  of  time ;  yet  it  is  first  placed,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sublimity  of  the  matter  contained  in 
it,  of  the  pre-emineuce  of  the  place  to  which  it 
was  sent,  and  in  veneration  of  the  church."  If 
all  this  is  true,  why  not  circulate  the  epistle  every- 
where ? 

It  is  true,  that  Paul  does  state  in  this  epistle 
many  things  which  look  as  if  his  doctrinal  views 
were  quite  different  from  those  of  modern  Popes 
and  of  Trent.  Yet  surely  Paul  ought  to  be  read 
at  Rome,  at  least  so  far  as  he  wrote  to  that 
church.  In  this  epistle  too,  he  several  times  makes 
very  honorable  mention  of  all  God's  word.  In 
the  2d  verse  of  the  1st  chapter,  he  says  that  God 
had  promised  the  Gospel  "  by  his  prophets  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures."  And  in  the  4th  verse  of  the 
15th  chapter  he  says,  "What  things  soever  were 
written,  were  written  for  our  instruction ;  that, 
through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures, 
we  might  have  hope."  And  in  the  26th  verse  of 
the  16th  chapter  it  is  expressly  stated,  that  the 
mystery  of  the  Gospel  is  now  "made  manifest  by 
the  Scriptures  of  the  prophets,  according  to  the 
commandment  of  the  eternal  God,  for  the  obe- 
dience of  faith."  Can  it  be  that  the  Church  of 
Koine  opposes  the  free  use  of  the  Epistle  to  the 


THIS    OPPOSITION-   UNJUSTIFIABLE.  83 

Romans  because  it  puts  such  abundant  honor  on 
the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  declares  that  it 
contains  much  of  the  promised  blessings  of  the 
New,  asserts  that  the  Scriptures  are  vastly  conso- 
latory, and  that  God  would  have  the  Gospel  made 
known  by  the  Scriptures  of  the  prophets  ?  This 
conduct  is  the  more  remarkable  and  the  more  re- 
prehensible, as  the  first  Pope,  Peter,  makes  very 
honorable  mention  of  all  the  epistles  "  of  our 
most  dear  brother  Paul."  2  Pet.  iii.  15,  16. 

This  leads  to  the  observation  that  every  where 
the  word  of  God  claims  to  be  read  by  all,  who 
can  read,  and  to  be  made  known  in  every  possi- 
ble way,  and  asserts  its  own  divinity  and  suffi- 
ciency with  great  clearness.  The  first  passage 
adduced  in  proof  is  Deut.  xi.  18 — 21,  and  reads 
thus:  "  Lay  up  these  my  words  in  your  hearts 
and  minds,  and  hang  them  for  a  sign  on  your 
hands,  and  place  them  between  your  eyes.  Teach 
your  children  that  they  meditate  on  them,  when 
thou  sittest  in  thy  house,  and  when  thou  walkest 
on  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when 
thou  risest  up.  Thou  shalt  write  them  upon  the 
posts  of  the  doors  of  thy  house,  that  thy  days  may 
be  multiplied  and  the  days  of  thy  children"  &c. 

Greater  variety  and  clearness  of  expression 
could  not  be  used  in  the  same  space  to  teach,  1, 
that  the  word  of  God  is  in  every  way  to  be  made 


84  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

easy  of  access,  and  familiar  to  all  the  inmates  of 
a  family ;  and  2,  that  children,  who  are  here  twice 
named,  are  as  proper  subjects  of  instruction  in 
God's  word,  and  are  as  large  sharers  in  the  bene- 
fits of  such  truths  as  their  parents.  Indeed  the 
whole  passage  is  but  an  enlarged  form  of  asserting 
what  Moses  more  briefly  expresses  in  Deut.  xxix. 
29.  "  Things  which  are  revealed  belong  unto  us 
and  to  our  children  forever,  that  we  may  do  all 
the  words  of  this  law."  Although  the  Doway 
translation  of  this  verse  is  elliptical,  yet  the  note 
at  the  bottom  acknowledges  that  the  sense  is  the 
same  as  that  given  by  our  translation. 

The  Doway  Bible  also  admits,  (Josh.  viii.  34, 
35,)  that  Joshua,  M  read  all  the  words  of  the  bless- 
ing and  the  cursing,  and  all  things  that  were 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law.  He  left  out 
nothing  of  those  things,  which  Moses  had  com- 
manded ;  but  he  repeated  all  before  the  people  of 
Israel,  with  the  women  and  children  and  strangers 
that  dwelt  among  them  "  To  this  no  note  is 
affixed.  Here  Joshua  brought  every  thing  in  the 
law  right  before  the  minds  of  women  and  children 
and  strangers.  I  will  not  stop  to  argue  that 
whatever  it  is  proper  for  one  man  to  read  to 
another  the  world  over,  it  is  proper  for  each  man 
to  read  for  himself. 

The  three  texts  just  quoted  make  special  men- 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  85 

tion  of  children  as  fit  persons  to  know  and  be 
familiar  with  the  Scriptures.  We  may  as  well 
here  examine  some  other  passages  which  relate 
to  young  persons  reading  the  Scriptures.  In  Ps. 
cxix.  9,  [in  the  Do  way  Bihle  it  is  numbered  cxviii.] 
we  read:  "  By  what  doth  a  young  man  correct 
his  way  ?"  The  answer  given  is,  ''by  observiug 
thy  words."  The  Psalmist  and  Trent  do  by  no 
means  agree.  He  says  that  even  a  young  man 
will  "correct  his  way  by  observing  God's  word." 
Trent  says  that  "  if  any  one  shall  possess  or  have 
it  without  written  permission,  he  shall  not  receive 
absolution  until  he  shall  first  deliver  it  up."  In 
the  same  Psalm,  verses  98,  99,  100,  we  read, 
"  Through  thy  commandment  thou  has  made  me 
wiser  than  my  enemies :  for  it  is  ever  with  me. 
I  have  understood  more  than  all  my  teachers ; 
because  thy  testimonies  are  my  meditation.  I 
have  understanding  above  ancients ;  because  I 
have  sought  thy  commandments."  In  this  en- 
lightening influence  of  the  word  of  God,  which  is 
here  said  to  make  men  wiser  than  their  enemies, 
than  their  teachers,  than  the  ancients,  is  found  the 
grand  objection  of  Romanists  to  men's  possessing 
and  reading  Holy  Scripture.  There  never  was  a 
Bible-reading,  Priest-ridden  community,  and  no 
people  know  this  better  than  the  Papal  hierarchy. 
But  to  return  to  children  and  youth.  In  his 
8 


86  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

second  epistle  to  Timothy,  iii.  15,  Paul  says, 
"  From  thy  infancy  thou  hast  known  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  which  can  instruct  thee  unto  salvation, 
through  the  faith,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  All 
Scripture,  divinely  inspired,  is  profitable  to  teach, 
to  reprove,  to  correct,  to  instruct  in  justice. " 
This  would  seem  to  be  plain  enough  on  the  mat- 
ter in  debate.  The  Scriptures,  which  Timothy 
knew  from  childhood,  were  those  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  are  confessed  to  have  belonged  to  a 
dispensation  far  less  luminous  than  the  present. 
If  they  alone  could  make  men  wise  unto  salvation, 
how  much  more  can  both  the  Testaments,  reflect- 
ing light  on  each  other,  accomplish  that  happy 
result. 

But  as  this  passage  puts  a  powerful  weapon 
into  the  hands  of  those,  who  maintain  the  free  use 
of  the  Bible,  even  by  children,  it  must  not  pass 
without  an  antidote.  Hence  the  Doway  Bible 
has  this  note.  "Every  part  of  Scripture  is  cer- 
tainly profitable  for  all  these  ends.  But  if  we 
would  have  the  ivkole  rule  of  Christian  faith,  we 
must  not  be  content  with  those  Scriptures,  which 
Timothy  knew  from  his  infancy,  that  is,  with  the 
Old  Testament  alone."  So  far  you  will  agree 
this  is  a  good  note.  This  is  the  very  doctrine  of 
Protestants.  Let  us  have  all  the  Scriptures. 
But  the  note  proceeds  to  say  that  we  must  not  be 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  81 

content  "yet  with  the  New  Testament,  without 
taking  along  with  it  the  traditions  of  the  Apostles, 
and  the  interpretations  of  the  Church,  to  which 
the  Apostles  delivered  both'  the  book,  and  the 
true  meaning  of  it."  This  last  part  of  the  note 
is  right  in  the  teeth  of  the  text. 

Still,  here  is  the  Doway  Bible  teaching  that 
Timothy  knew  the  Scriptures  from  his  infancy, 
and  yet  in  the  Pastoral  letter  from  the  Archbishop 
and  Bishops,  met  in  Baltimore,  in  1840,  about  a 
page  is  taken  up  in  discussing  whether  children 
and  youth  should  use  the  Bible  in  schools,  and 
the  decision  reached  is  that  they  should  not,  at 
least  in  any  such  school  as  is  usually  found  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  Their  own  transla- 
tion says  the  Scriptures  can  instruct  unto  salva- 
tion, and  yet  Romanists,  led  on  by  Popes  and 
Councils,  will  not  aid  existing  Bible  Societies, 
nor  form  one  for  themselves,  nor  desist  from  de- 
nouncing those  who  industriously  circulate  God's 
Word,  calling  their  Society  a  "pestilence,"  "a 
defilement  of  the  faith,"  and  "  most  dangerous  to 
souls."  Paul  says  God's  Word  is  not  dangerous 
to  souls.  He  says  it  is  profitable.  However, 
Paul  was  no  Papist,  nor  has  the  world  ever  seen 
a  book  (no  larger  than  Paul's  epistles,)  which 
was  more  utterly  hostile  to  all  the  claims  of  the 
Roman  Anti-Christ.     Indeed,  in  several  of  his 


83  ROME    AGAINST    THE    EIBLE. 

Epistles,  lie  plainly  utters  the  most  weighty  pro- 
phecies and  arguments  against  Popery,  the  spirit 
of  which  had  already  begun  to  appear  and  to 
work.  See  especially  2  Thess.  ii.  3-10,  and  1 
Tim.  iv.  1-3. 

And  Peter  was  as  much  in  favor  of  all  Chris- 
tians, even  the  youngest,  having  the  Bible,  as 
Paul  was.  In  his  first  epistle,  ii.  2,  in  our  En- 
glish Bible,  we  read  thus:  "As  new-born  babes 
desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  may 
grow  thereby."  This  from  Pope  Peter  was  felt 
to  be  a  rather  strong  statement.  So  in  the  Do- 
way  Bible  there  is  an  attempt  to  darken  it  by  a 
false  translation.  "  As  new-born  infants,  desire 
the  rational  milk  without  guile,  that  thereby  you 
may  grow  unto  salvation."  Still,  Papists  will, 
perhaps,  hardly  deny  that,  the  " rational  milk"  is 
the  milk  of  God's  word. 

Having  shown  from  the  Scriptures  that  people, 
even  from  infancy,  should  know  God's  Word,  and 
that  it  will  make  them  wiser  than  the  ancients, 
and  even  wise  unto  salvation,  let  us  now  further 
examine  and  see  whether  a  perusal  of  Scripture, 
wherever  people  can  read  God's  truth,  is  not  re- 
quired by  his  authority.  In  John  v.  39,  we  have 
Christ's  own  words,  addressed  to  a  promiscuous 
audience  in  Jerusalem,  at  one  of  the  great  feasts 
of  the  Jews.     Though  most  who  heard  him  were 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  89 

unbelievers  in  his  Messiahship,  yet  he  said  to  all, 
11  Search  the  Scriptures,  for  you  think  in  them  to 
have  eternal  life,  and  the  same  are  they  that  give 
testimony  of  me."  There  is  a  remarkable  note 
affixed  to  this  passage  in  the  Doway  Bible,  say- 
ing, "It  is  not  a  command  to  all  to  read  the 
Scriptures."  Why  then  does  their  own  Bible 
translate  it  as  a  command  ?  For  shame  they  were 
compelled  to  let  Christ's  word  come  forth, 
"Search  the  Scriptures;"  and  yet  here  is  a  flat 
denial  of  the  only  sense  which  can  be  drawn  from 
that  command.  Origen,  Athanasius,  Basil, 
Chrysostom,  Theophylact,  and  Augustine,  all 
agree  that  the  word  rendered  "  search,"  is  in  this 
place  in  the  imperative. 

So  also,  Luke  tells  us,  i.  3,  4.  "  It  seemed 
good  to  me  also,  having  diligently  attained  to  all 
things  from  the  beginning,  to  write  to  thee  in 
order,  most  excellent  Theophilus,  that  thou  mayest 
know  the  truth  of  those  words  in  which  thou  hast 
been  instructed."  Could  that  evangelist  have  de- 
clared in  stronger  terms,  the  use  and  confirmatory 
nature  of  Scripture  records  ?  And  in  Luke  x. 
25,  26,  when  a  lawyer  stood  up,  tempting  Christ, 
and  saying,  "  What  must  I  do  to  possess  eternal 
life  ?"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "  what  is  written  in  the 
law?  How  readest  thou  ?"  Could  Christ  have 
8* 


90  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

more  clearly  declared  that  the  Scriptures  were  for 
all  and  to  be  read  by  all,  than  when  he  thus  re- 
ferred even  an  opposer,  a  bitter,  subtle,  carping 
enemy  to  that  one  infallible  standard  ? 

The  next  passage  of  Scripture,  showing  that 
people,  indiscriminately,  as  they  can,  ought  often 
and  diligently,  to  read  God's  word,  is  found  in 
Acts  xvii.  10,  11,  where  it  is  said  that  Paul  and 
Silas  coming  to  Berea,  "  entered  into  the  syna- 
gogue of  the  Jews.  Now  these  were  more  noble 
than  those  of  Thessalonica,  who  received  the  word 
with  all  eagerness,  daily  searching  the  Scriptures, 
whether  these  things  were  so."  In  the  margin  is 
this  note  :  "  The  Jews  of  Berea  are  justly  com- 
mended for  their  eagerly  embracing  the  truth 
and  searching  the  Scriptures  to  find  out  the  texts 
alleged  by  the  Apostles ;  which  was  a  far  more 
generous  proceeding  than  that  of  their  country- 
men at  Thessalonica,  who  persecuted  the  preachers 
of  the  Gospel  without  examining  the  grounds  they 
alleged  for  what  they  taught."  All  must  agree 
that  this  is  a  good  note.  But  if  it  were  "  noble" 
and  "  a  generous  proceeding,"  in  a  congregation 
of  Bereans,  to  search  the  Scriptures  and  bring  the 
doctrines  of  Paul  and  Silas,  though  inspired,  to 
the  test  of  God's  word,  to  see  whether  they  were 
true,  why  is  it  not  "  noble  "  and  "  generous  "  for 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  91 

a  congregation  in  Rome,  Paris,  Lisbon,  Genoa, 
Mexico,  or  New  York  to  do  the  same  thing,  when 
modern  and  uninspired  men  preach  ?* 

Afterwards,  when  Paul  wrote  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians,  (1  Thess.  v.  21,)  he  said,  "prove  all 
things."  How  could  they  do  this  if  they  were 
implicitly  to  believe  whatever  men  should  say  to 
them  ?  Pope  Hormisdas,  who  lived  in  the  sixth 
century,  gave  to  this  passage,  the  correct  inter- 
pretation. He  says :  "We  ought  not  to  blame 
that  diligence  which  runs  through  and  examines 
many  things,  but  only  the  inclination  which  leads 
ns  from  the  truth.  By  this,  we  often  lay  in  a  store 
of  instruction,  that  is  necessary  for  the  convincing 
of  our  very  rivals  themselves.  Neither  ought  it  to 
be  looked  upon  as  a  fault  to  know  what  we  are  to 
shun.     Therefore,  it  is  not  those  who  read  unsuit- 

*  The  "Metropolitan"  for  May,  1853,  p.  146  and  147,  tries, 
by  bold  assertions,  to  set  aside  the  clear  point  and  teachings 
of  this  passage,  and  says  that  if  the  Bereans  had  "been  Chris- 
tians, their  conduct  upon  the  occasion  in  question,  would  have 
been  altogether  unjustifiable."  The  Doway  Bible,  both  in  the 
text  and  in  the  note,  admits  that  the  Bereans  acted  nobly. 
Now,  if  it  is  noble  in  a  Jew  to  compare  the  preaching  of  an 
Apostle  with  the  Old  Testament,  why  is  it  not  noble  for  a 
Christian  to  compare  the  preaching  of  a  modern  minister  with 
all  God's  word,  and  see  if  it  is  true  ?  To  say  that  it  is  "  alto- 
gether unjustifiable/'  is  to  make  a  bold  assertion  without  evi- 
dence. If  a  Jew  may  search  the  Scriptures,  much  more  a 
Christian. 


92  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

able  tilings  that  do  wrong  by  reading,  but  those 
who  follow  that  which  is  wrong.  If  it  were  not 
so,  the  teacher  of  the  Gentiles  would  never  have 
told  the  faithful,  'Prove  afl  things;  hold  fast  to 
that  which  is  good. '  " 

And  did  not  John,  in  his  first  epistle  ii.  12,  14, 
say,  "  I  write  to  you,  little  children.  ...  I 
write  unto  you,  fathers,  ...  I  write  unto 
you,  infants  ?"  But  what  was  the  use  of  his  writ- 
ing to  them  if  they  might  not  know  all  that  he 
wrote,  either  by  reading  it,  or  by  hearing  it 
read  ? 

It  will  hardly  be  denied  that  one  of  the  darkest 
and  most  difficult  books  of  Scripture,  is  that  of 
the  Apocalypse.  Oftentimes  it  perplexes  the 
learned  as  well  as  the  ignorant.  Yet  in  the  3d 
verse  of  the  1st  chapter,  the  Do  way  version  reads 
thus  :  '•  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth  and  heareth  the 
words  of  this  prophecy ;  and  keepeth  these  things 
which  are  written  in  it."  To  this  passage  no  note 
is  affixed.  By  confession  of  Romanists,  there- 
fore, the  thing  is  plain,  and  needs  no  comment. 
Blessed  is  he  that  readeth  even  the  Apocalypse, 
or  heareth  it  and  keepeth  its  sayings. 

And  does  not  Paul  often  speak  of  his  epistles 
as  though  they  were  to  be  made  known  to  the 
people  ?  Did  he  not  write  them  for  that  very 
purpose  ?     Thus  in  the  Doway  Bible  we  read  in 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  93 

Col.  iv.  16,  "When  this  epistle  shall  be  read 
among  yon,  cause  that  it  be  read  also  in  the 
chnreh  of  the  Laodieeans ;  and  read  you  that, 
which  is  of  the  Laodieeans."  So  in  1  Thess.  v.  21, 
11 1  charge  you,  by  the  Lord,  that  this  epistle  be 
read  to  all  the  holy  brethren. "  And  in  2  Thess.  iii. 
14,  "  And  if  any  man  obey  not  our  word  by  this 
epistle,  note  that  man,  and  do  not  keep  company 
with  him,  that  he  may  be  ashamed."  Surely 
Paul  did  not  advise  the  church  to  censure  any 
man  for  not  obeying  an  epistle,  of  which  he  had 
been  kept  in  utter  ignorance. 

All  these  views  derive  great  force  from  the 
fact,  that  according  to  the  clearest  teachings  of 
God's  word,  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  is  the 
very  means  appointed  by  Heaven  for  our  regene- 
ration, conversion,  and  sanctification.  A  few  out 
of  many  passages  must  suffice.  We  read  in 
James  i.  18,  "  Of  his  own  will  hath  he  begotten 
us  by  the  word  of  truth  ;"  1  Pet.  i.  23,  "  Being 
born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  incor- 
ruptible, by  the  word  of  God  ;"  Ps.  cxix.  59,  "  I 
have  thought  on  my  ways  and  turned  my  feet 
unto  thy  testimonies;"  John  xvii.  17,  "Sanctify 
them  in  truth  ;  thy  word  is  truth ;"  Eph.  v.  25, 
26,  "  Christ  also  loved  the  church,  and  delivered 
himself  up  for  it,  that  he  might  sanctify  it,  cleans- 


94  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

ing  it  by  the  laver  of  water  in  the  word  of 
life." 

Indeed  the  possession  of  God's  written  word 
was,  according  to  inspired  teachings,  the  greatest 
distinction  between  his  ancient  people,  the  Jews, 
and  the  rest  of  mankind.  So  we  find  in  the 
Doway  Bible,  Deut.  iv.  8,  "For  what  other  na- 
tion is  there  so  renowned,  that  hath  ceremonies, 
and  just  judgments,  and  all  the  law,  which  I  will 
set  forth  before  your  eyes.  Keep  thyself  there- 
fore, and  thy  soul  carefully.  Forget  not  the 
words  that  thy  eyes  have  seen,  and  let  them  not 
go  out  of  thy  heart  all  the  days  of  thy  life.  Thou 
shalt  teach  them  to  thy  sons,  and  to  thy  grand- 
sons." So  also  in  Ps.  cxlvii.  19,  the  same  is 
taught :  "Who  declareth  his  word  to  Jacob;  his 
justices  and  judgments  to  Israel.  He  hath  not 
done  in  like  manner  to  every  nation ;  and  his 
judgments  he  hath  not  made  manifest  to  them. 
Alleluiah  !" 

With  this  view  well  agrees  the  New  Testament. 
In  Romans  iii.  1,  2,  Paul  says:  "What  advan- 
tage then  hath  the  Jew,  or  what  is  the  profit  of 
circumcision  ?  Much  every  way.  First,  indeed, 
because  the  words  of  God  were  committed  to 
them." 

And  in  the  great  commission  given  by  Christ 
to  his  disciples  he  said:  "Go  ye,  therefore,  and 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  95 

teach  all  nations  ;  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy- 
Ghost  ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  what- 
soever I  have  commanded  you."  Now,  we  know 
that  there  are  many  ways  of  teaching.  One  is  by- 
oral  instruction.  Another  is  by  example.  An- 
other is  by  putting  books  into  men's  hands,  and 
inducing  them  to  read  and  study  them.  Very- 
early  in  their  ministry  the  apostles  called  men  to 
reading  their  epistles  and  all  the  sacred  books. 
Men  may  be  saved  without  learning  to  read,  but 
in  civilized  communities  that  knowledge  will  be 
very  imperfect  which  is  not  reduced  to  writing, 
and  studied  in  private.  Indeed  so  convincing  is 
the  pure  Scripture,  that  our  Lord  Jesus  himself 
taught  us  that  nothing  could  be  better  suited  to 
bring  men  to  repentance,  and  gave  us  a  parable, 
the  very  last  sentence  of  which  is  :  "If  they  hear 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  be- 
lieve if  one  rise  again  from  the  dead."  Lukexvi. 
29.  And  in  John  v.  46,  Christ  says  expressly, 
"  Had  ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed 
me;  for  he  wrote  of  me."  The  Doway  Bible 
labors  to  weaken  this  passage  by  erroneously  ren- 
dering it  thus :  "  For  if  you  did  believe  Moses, 
you  would,  perhaps,  believe  me  also :  for  he 
wrote  of  me."  But  even  this  translation  cannot 
destroy  the  force  of  the  argument      Reading  and 


96  ROME    AGAINST   THE   BIBLE. 

believing  Moses  will  prepare  the  heart  for  receiv- 
ing Christ  and  his  truth. 

And  all  the  Scriptures  teach,  that  whenever 
the  doctrine  of*  any  man  is  opposed  to  God's 
word,  it  is  to  be  promptly  rejected.  Isa.  viii.  20. 
"To  the  law  rather  and  to  the  testimony."  So 
also  in  Deut.  xiii  1-5,  "  If  there  rise  in  the  midst 
of  thee  a  prophet,  or  one  that  saith  he  hath 
dreamed  a  dream,  and  he  foretell  a  sign  and  a 
wonder,  and  that  come  to  pass  which  he  spake, 
and  he  say  to  thee  :  Let  us  go  and  follow  strange 
gods,  which  thou  knowest  not,  and  let  us  serve 
them  :  thou  shalt  not  hear  the  words  of  that  pro- 
phet or  dreamer :  for  the  Lord  your  God  trieth 
you,  that  it  may  appear  whether  you  love  him 
with  all  your  heart,  and  with  all  your  soul,  or  no. 
Follow  the  Lord  your  God,  and  fear  him  and  keep 
his  commandments,  and  hear  his  voice  ;  him  you 
shall  serve,  and  to  him  you  shall  cleave. " 

Here  the  test,  by  which  a  false  teacher,  however 
high  his  pretensions,  should  be  tried,  was  whether 
his  teachings  tended  to  withdraw  men  from  the 
commandments  and  voice  or  teachings  of  God. 
So  also  in  2  John  verse  10,  we  read:  "If  any 
man  come  to  you,  and  bring  not  this  doctrine, 
receive  him  not  into  the  house,  nor  say  to  him, 
God  save  you." 

And  as  we  are  to  know  teachers  true  or  false 
by  their  doctrine,  so  we  must  judge  of  the  church 


THIS    OPPOSITION    UNJUSTIFIABLE.  97 

itself  by  the  same  rule,  for  Christ  lays  it  down  as 
a  universal  rule  without  exception:  "My  sheep 
hear  my  voice ;  and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow 
me."  John  x.  27.  Again;  "You  shall  know 
the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free." 
John  viii.  32.  So  that  the  Church  herself  is  to 
be  known  by  the  truths  which  she  teaches,  and 
not  by  pomps,  and  vanities  and  lying  wonders. 

It  seems  strange  that  we  should  be  compelled 
to  argue  such  a  point  as  this  at  large,  when  John 
tells  us  that  he  wrote  his  Gospel  for  the  very  pur- 
pose of  settling  the  faith  of  the  people  in  a  man- 
ner that  would  secure  salvation :  "  These  are 
written,  that  you  may  believe  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  believing,  you 
may  have  life  in  his  name."     John  xx.  31. 

And  now  has  it  not  been  proven  by  Moses,  by 
Joshua,  by  David,  by  Jesus  Christ,  by  Luke,  by 
Paul,  by  Peter,  and  by  John,  that  it  is  the  privilege 
and  duty  of  all  men,  as  they  can,  to  have  and  to 
read  God's  blessed  word  ?  Could  an  argument  be 
more  scriptural,  more  conclusive  than  that  fairly 
drawn  from  the  texts  cited?  Yerily  Tillotson 
spoke  well  when  he  said,  "  It  is  a  hard  case  the 
Church  of  Rome  reduces  men  to,  who  will  neither 
allow  them  any  salvation  out  of  their  Church,  nor 
the  best  and  most  effectual  means  of  salvation 
when  in  it." 

9 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THIS     OPPOSITION     IS    CONDEMNED    BY   THE   VOICE    OF 
ANTIQUITY. 

The  hostility  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  the 
free  use  and  general  circulation  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  is  also  contrary  to  the  practice  of  the 
primitive  Church,  and  the  teachings  of  the  early 
fathers.  Roman  Catholic  Priests  profess  to  re- 
gard themselves  as  bound  to  pay  a  very  sacred 
regard  to  the  usages  and  views  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians, and  to  receive  with  great  deference  the 
opinions  of  the  fathers.  Even  the  Council  of 
Trent  professes  to  "follow  the  orthodox  Fathers." 

Now  it  is  not  venturing  anything  to  say  that  no 
Christian  writer  of  the  first  five  centuries  can  fairly 
be  quoted  against  the  free  use  of  God's  word. 
Irenams  says :  "  We  have  learned  the  plan  of  sal- 
vation from  none  others  than  those,  by  whom  the 
Gospel  came  to  us,  which  Gospel  they  first 
preached,  and  afterwards  by  the  will  of  God  gave 
it  to  us  in  the  Scriptures,  as  the  pillar  and  lasting 
foundation   of  our  faith."     Again   he  says  that 

(98) 


CONDEMNED    BY    ANTIQUITY.  99 

"  prophetical  and  evangelical  Scripture  is  plain 
and  without  ambiguity." 

Chrysostom  says:  "Is  it  not  absurd,  that,  in 
money  matters,  men  will  not  trust  to  others,  but 
the  counters  are  produced,  and  the  sum  cast  up ; 
yet,  in  their  souls'  affairs,  men  are  led  and  drawn 
away  by  the  opinions  of  others,  and  this  when 
they  have  an  exact  scale  and  an  exact  rule,  viz. : 
the  declaration  of  the  divine  laws  ?  Therefore  I 
entreat  and  beseech  you  all,  that  not  minding 
what  this  or  that  man  may  say  about  these  things, 
you  would  consult  the  Holy  Scriptures  concern- 
ing them."  Again  :  "  There  comes  a  Gentile  and 
says,  '  I  wish  to  become  a  Christian,  but  I  know 
not  to  whom  to  adhere,  for  there  are  among  you 
many  disagreements,  strifes  and  broils:  I  know 
not  which  doctrine  to  prefer  or  embrace.  Each 
one  says,  '  I  speak  the  truth,'  but  whom  to  believe, 
I  know  not,  for  I  am  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  each  one  defends  his  own  views  ?  Verily, 
this  makes  much  for  us ;  for  if  we  say  that  we 
believe  upon  the  strength  of  our  own  reasonings, 
thou  art  necessarily  confused.  But  when  we  receive 
the  Scriptures,  which  are  simple  and  true,  it  will  be 
easy  for  thee  to  judge.  If  any  man  consents  to 
these,  he  is  a  Christian  ;  if  he  fights  against  these, 
he  is  far  from  the  true  precepts  of  a  Christian." 
Again :  "  When  heresy,  which  is  the  working  of 


ROME    AGAIXST   THE    BIBLE.  100 

Anti- Christ,  gains  ground,  there  is  no  proving  a 
Church,  but  only  by  the  Scriptures." 

At  the  Council  of  Nice,  the  Emperor  Constan- 
tine  thus  appealed  to  the  common  consent  of  the 
Fathers  assembled :  "  The  books  of  the  Evange- 
lists and  Apostles,  and  the  prophetic  oracles, 
plainly  inform  us  what  opinions  and  sentiments  to 
entertain  concerning  God ;  therefore,  laying  aside 
all  unfriendly  contention,  let  us  proceed  to  debate 
and  prove  the  things  in  question,  from  the  sacred 
writings." 

Jerome  said  :  "  Love  the  Scriptures,  and  wis- 
dom will  love  thee  :"  and  "  That  which  has  not 
authority  from  the  Scriptures,  is  contemned  with 
as  much  ease,  as  its  nature  is  proved." 

Tertullian  says  :  "  I  adore  the  fullness  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  I  do  not  admit  what  thou  bringest  in  of 
thine  own,  without  Scripture."  He  also  says: 
"Without  doubt  that  which  the  Church  received 
from  the  Apostles,  and  the  Apostles  from  Christ, 
and  Christ  from  God,  is  to  be  held  fast."  Again, 
speaking  of  certain  errorists,  he  says :  "  That  doc- 
trine of  theirs,  if  compared  with  the  doctrine  of 
the  Apostles,  will,  by  its  diversity  from  it,  and  by 
its  contrariety  to  it,  be  clearly  shown  not  to  be 
the  doctrine  taught  by  any  Apostle  or  apostolic 
man."  Again:  "Whence  arise  heretics,  alien 
and  hostile  to  the  Apostles,  except  by  a  diversity 


CONDEMNED    BY    ANTIQUITY,  101 

of  doctrine,  which  each  one  has  advanced  or  re- 
ceived according  to  his  own  will,  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Apostles."  Again  he  says:  "Let 
Herinogenes  show  where  it  is  written,  and  if  it  is 
not  written,  let  him  fear  that  woe  denounced 
against  those  who  add  to  God's  Word." 

Basil  says  :  "  Let  the  divinely  inspired  Scrip- 
ture determine  the  whole  controversy  among  us." 
Again  he  says  :  "  It  is  a  proof  of  infidelity,  or  a 
sign  of  pride,  to  invalidate  any  thing  of  all  that 
has  been  written,  or  to  introduce  any  thing  not 
found  written." 

Theodoret  says  :  "  Do  not  offer  reasons  and  ar- 
guments that  are  human,  and  drawn  from  the  au- 
thority of  men.  I  believe  and  obey  only  the  Ho- 
ly Scripture." 

Justin  Martyr  says  :  "  We  must  know,  by  all 
means,  that  it  is  not  lawful  or  possible  to  learn 
any  thing  of  God,  or  of  right  piety,  save  out  of 
the  prophets,  who  teach  us  by  Divine  inspiration." 

Augustine  says :  "  Take  and  read  the  Scrip- 
tures, for  whatsoever  is  in  them  is  high  and  di- 
vine ;  there  is  verily  truth,  and  a  doctrine  most  fit 
for  the  refreshment  and  renewing  of  men's  minds, 
and  truly  so  tempered  that  every  one  may  draw 
with  a  devout  and  pious  mind,  as  true  religion  re- 
quires." Again:  "Let  us  not  hear,  '  I  say  this 
and  you  say  that,'  but  let  us  hear,  l  Thus  saith 
9* 


102  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

the  Lord.'  Truly  these  are  the  Lord's  books,  to 
whose  authority  we  all  consent,  which  we  all  be- 
lieve and  obey ;  there  let  us  seek  the  church ; 
there  let  us  discuss  our  cause."  Again  :  "  I  have 
the  very  clearest  voice  of  my  Shepherd  without 
any  doubtfulness,  setting  forth  and  portraying  to 
me  the  church.  I  should  therefore  have  myself 
to  blame,  if  I  should  be  willingly  seduced  and  led 
away  from  his  flock,  which  is  the  church  itself,  es- 
pecially as  I  should  hear  him  admonishing  me 
with  these  words,  '  As  many  as  are  my  sheep,  hear 
my  voice,  and  follow  me.'  This  voice  is  clear, 
plain,  and  distinct.  He  who  does  not  follow  it, 
how  dare  he  say  that  he  is  one  of  Christ's  sheep  ?" 
Again  :  "  To  this  salvation  and  eternal  life  no  one 
attains  unless  he  holds  the  head,  Christ.  Yet  no 
one  can  hold  the  head,  Christ,  unless  he  be  a 
member  of  Christ's  body,  which  is  the  church, 
which  church  we  are  bound  by  holy  canonical 
Scripture  to  acknowledge  even  as  we  do  the  head 
itself;  but  we  are  not  in  like  manner  obliged  to 
search  into  the  various  stories  and  opinions  of 
men,  as  to  what  they  have  done  and  said  and 
seen.  Let  them,  if  they  can,  clearly  prove  the 
claims  of  their  church,  not  by  what  may  have 
been  said  and  reported  in  Africa,  not  by  councils 
composed  of  their  own  bishops,  not  by  the  letters 
of  disputants,  whoever  they  may  be,  not  by  falla- 


CONDEMNED    BY    ANTIQUITY.  103 

cious  signs  and  prodigies,  but  by  the  rules  laid 
down  in  the  law  of  God,  in  the  predictions  of  the 
prophets,  in  the  Psalms,  in  the  words  of  the  One 
Shepherd,  in  the  preachings  of  the  evangelists, 
that  is,  in  all  the  canonical  authorities  of  the  sa- 
cred books."  Again:  "In  the  Scriptures  we 
have  learned  Christ,  in  the  Scriptures  we  have 
learned  the  church,  we  have  these  Scriptures  in 
common.  Why,  therefore,  should  we  not  hold 
fast  Christ  and  the  church,  as  presented  in  them  V 

Indeed,  Bishop  Jewel,  preaching  at  Paul's 
Cross,  before  a  great  assembly,  on  an  exciting  oc- 
casion, gave  this  challenge,  which  has  not  been 
taken  up  to  this  day :  "If  any  one  can  prove  by 
Scripture,  Fathers,  Doctors,  Councils,  for  the 
first  six  hundred  years,  that  the  lay  people 
were  forbidden  to  read  the  word  of  god  in  their 
own  tongue,  i  will  yield  and  submit." 

So  full  and  uniform  is  the  testimony  of  the 
early  writers  on  Christianity,  on  the  duty  of  stu- 
dying God's  written  word,  and  its  fitness  to  de- 
cide controversies,  and  nourish  the  soul,  that  Fe- 
nelon,  in  his  celebrated  letter  to  the  bishop  of 
Arras,  "  On  the  Reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
in  the  Vernacular,"  speaks  as  follows:  "I  think 
that  in  our  days  persons  have  taken  useless  trou- 
ble to  prove  what  is  incontestable,  to  wit,  that 
during  the  primitive  ages  of  the  church,  lay-per- 


104  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

sons  were  accustomed  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
To  be  convinced  of  this,  we  have  only  to  open 
the  works  of  St,  Chrysostoin.  He  says,  for  ex- 
ample, in  his  preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, that  he  feels  a  lively  sorrow,  because  many 
of  the  faithful  do  not  understand  St.  Paul,  as  they 
should,  and  because  this  ignorance  in  some  is  so 
great  that  they  do  not  even  know  the  number  of 
his  Epistles.  He  adds,  that  the  disorder  proceeds 
from  the  fact,  that  they  are  unwilling  to  have  his 
writings  in  their  hands  assiduously ;  he  further  de- 
clares, that  ignorance  of  the  holy  Scriptures  is  the 
source  of  the  contagion  of  heresies,  and  of  the  neg- 
lect in  morals.  '  Those,'  he  says,  'who  do  not 
turn  their  eyes  toward  the  light  of  the  Scriptures, 
fall  necessarily  into  errors,  and  into  frequent 
faults.'  The  whole  of  this  discourse  regarded  the 
lay-persons  who  were  accustomed  to  hear  the  ser- 
mons of  this  Father." 

"St.  Jerome  speaking  to  Laeta  concerning  the 
education  of  her  grand-daughter,  says,  that  when 
this  child  shall  commence  to  be  a  little  older,  her 
parents  must  find  her  only  in  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Scriptures,  consulting  the  prophets  and  apostles 
concerning  the  spiritual  nuptials.  He  adds  :  ■  Let 
her  every  day  bring  to  you  her  work  in  order, 
which  shall  be  a  bouquet  of  the  flowers  of  Scrip- 
ture;   let  her  learn   the   number  of  the  Greek 


CONDEMNED    BY    ANTIQUITY.  105 

verses,  and  afterwards  let  her  be  instructed  in  the 
Latin  editions.' 

"  He  desires  that  this  young  maiden  should  love 
the  holy  books  instead  of  jewelry  and  silken  stuffs. 
....  Let  her  learn  the  Psalms Let  her  in- 
struct herself  in  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  on  the 
rules  of  life ;  let  her,  in  Ecclesiastes,  accustom 
herself  to  trample  worldly  things  under  foot ;  in 
the  book  of  Job  let  her  follow  the  example  of 
Courage  and  patience  ;  let  her  pass  to  the  Gos- 
pels, never  to  put  them  out  of  her  hands ;  let 
her,  with  an  ardent  thirst,  be  filled  with  the  Acts 

of  the  Apostles,  and  with  their  epistles Let 

her  learn  by  heart  the  prophets,  the  first  seven 
books  of  Scripture,  those  of  Kings,"  &c. 

This  language  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cambray 
is  the  more  remarkable,  as  it  is  the  first  part  of  a 
letter,  the  object  of  which  is  to  justify  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  putting  restrictions  upon  the  reading 
of  God's  word.  In  a  subsequent  part  of  the  same 
letter,  speaking  of  the  early  ages  of  the  Christian 
Church,  he  says :  "  Besides,  in  those  times  all 
the  Scriptures,  and  even  all  the  liturgy,  were  in 
the  vernacular  language.  All  the  West  under- 
stood the  Latin,  in  which  was  the  ancient  version 
of  the  Bible,  called  by  St.  Augustine,  the  old 
Italian  version.  The  West  also  had  the  liturgy 
in  the  same  language,  which  was  the  language  of 


106  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

the  people.  At  the  East,  it  was  the  same  thing ; 
the  people  there  all  spoke  Greek;  they  under- 
stood the  Septuagint  version,  and  the  Greek 
liturgy,  just  as  our  people  understand  the  French 
translation.  Thus  without  entering  upon  any 
question  of  criticism,  it  is  clearer  than  day  that 
the  people  had  in  their  natural  language  the  Bible 
and  liturgy,  which  they  caused  their  children  to 
read,  that  they  might  be  properly  educated  ;  that 
the  holy  pastors  in  their  sermons  afterwards  ex- 
plained to  them  the  whole  Scriptures ;  that  Uae 
text  was  very  familiar  to  the  people ;  that  they 
were  exhorted  to  read  it  continually ;  that  they 
were  reproached  for  neglecting  to  read  it ;  finally, 
that  such  neglect  was  regarded  as  the  source  of 
heresies  and  of  the  relaxation  of  morals.  This  is 
something  which  no  one  need  undertake  to  prove, 
because  it  is  evident  in  the  monuments  of  anti- 
quity."* 

To  every  well-ordered  mind  these  concessions 
of  Fenelon  must  be  conclusive  as  to  the  usage  of 
the  primitive  Church.  Indeed  no  Council,  for 
more  than  six  centuries  after  the  death  of  the 
oldest  apostle,  is  quoted  by  Romish  authors  against 
the  free  use  of  God's  word.     So  that  if  Roman 

*  The  foregoing  authorities  are  cited  at  length  in  Bennet's 
Christian  Oratory,  in  Turrettin,  and  in  Fenelon's  Letter  pub- 
lished in  Roman  Catholic  newspapers  in  this  country. 


CONDEMNED    BY    ANTIQUITY.  107 

Catholics  regard  trie  unanimous  agreement  of  the 
Fathers  as  a  rule  in  such  a  matter,  their  conduct 
is  wholly  unjustifiable. 

Indeed  this  exclusion  of  God's  word  from  the 
people  is  so  manifestly  a  modern  invention,  that 
Peter  Dens  confesses:  "It  must  be  said  that 
in  this  point  the  discipline  of  the  church  has  been 
changed,  just  as  communion  under  both  kinds, 
and  daily  communion  have  been  changed." 

"The  Metropolitan"  for  May,  1853,  p.  151, 
admits  the  same:  "The  Church  did  not,  at  its 
commencement,  impose  the  same  restrictions  on 
the  reading  of  the  Scripture,  as  she  found  it  neces- 
sary to  impose  in  these  latter  times.  And  if  the 
Church  has  never,  not  even  in  these  latter  times, 
imposed  any  restriction  on  the  reading  of  the  origi- 
nal texts  and  of  the  ancient  versions,  the  reason  is, 
because  the  knowledge  of  the  original  texts  and 
of  these  ancient  versions  soon  became  limited  to 
the  learned  and  well  instructed  Christians."  Yet 
the  same  Xo.  p.  147,  has  the  boldness  to  say  that 
11  no  one  of  the  Fathers — not  even  St.  Chrysostom, 
to  whom,  above  all  others,  the  Biblicals  appeal — 
has  ever  asserted  the  existence  of  a  precept  bind- 
ing all  Christians  to  read  the  Bible.  St.  Chry- 
sostom, St.  Augustine,  and  St.  Jerome,  to  all  of 
whom  our  opponents  here  refer,  at  the  most,  but 
exhort  to  the  reading  of  the  Scripture." 


108  ROME   AGAINST    THE     BIBLE. 

The  policy  and  insidiousness  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  in  this  particular,  has  been  well  exposed 
by  Chillingworth :  "  He,  that  would  usurp  an 
absolute  lordship  and  tyranny  over  any  people, 
need  not  put  himself  to  the  trouble  and  difficulty 
of  abrogating  and  disannulling  the  laws  made  to 
maintain  the  common  liberty ;  for  he  may  frus- 
trate their  intent,  and  compass  his  own  design  as 
well,  if  he  can  get  the  power  and  authority  to 
interpret  them  as  he  pleases,  and  to  have  his  in- 
terpretations and  additions  stand  for  laws  ;  if  he 
can  rule  his  people  by  his  laws,  and  his  laws  by 
his  lawyers.  So  the  Church  of  Rome,  to  estab- 
lish her  tyranny  over  men's  consciences,  needed 
not  either  to  abolish  or  corrupt  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures, the  pillars  and  supporters  of  Christian 
liberty.  But  the  more  expedite  way,  and  there- 
fore the  more  likely  to  be  successful,  was  to  gain 
the  opinion  and  esteem  of  being  the  pnblic  and 
authorized  interpreter  of  them,  and  the  authority 
of  adding  to  them  what  doctrine  she  pleased,  un- 
der the  title  of  traditions  or  definitions.1''  Thus 
Rome  has  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge,  and 
substituted  great  loads  of  traditions,  glosses,  and 
corruptions  for  the  word  of  God. 

Some  may  ask,  how  do  Romanists  set  aside  the 
numerous  teachings  of  God's  word,  and  the  uni- 
form practice  of  the  primitive  church  on  this  sub- 


CONDEMNED    BY    ANTIQUITY.  109 

ject  ?  This  question  has  already  been,  in  part, 
answered.  More  particularly,  Romanists  claim 
for  their  church,  power  enough  to  do  this  or  any 
thing  else,  however  contrary  to  Scripture.  Church 
authority  is  the  great  pillar  of  all  their  system. 

But  do  they  not  attempt  to  show  that  they 
have  some  Scriptural  authority  for  their  course  in 
this  matter  ?  They  do.  They  rely  much  on  two 
texts.  In  Matt,  xviii.  15-17,  we  are  told  that 
Christ  said  :  "  If  thy  brother  offend  thee,  go  and 
reprove  him  between  thee  and  him  alone.  If  he 
shall  hear  thee,  thou  shalt  gain  thy  brother.  But 
if  he  will  not  hear  thee,  take  with  thee  one  or  two 
more,  that  in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses 
every  word  may  stand.  And  if  he  will  not  hear 
them,  tell  the  church,  and  if  he  will  not  hear  the 
church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  the  heathen  and  the 
publican."  This  is  the  favorite  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture most  frequently  adduced  by  Papists,  to  show 
that  the  people  must  not  read  the  Scriptures 
without  permission.  It  is  quoted  in  the  "  Admo- 
nition "  prefixed  to  the  Doway  Bible,  only  Papists 
do  not  quote  the  whole,  but  merely  the  last  part 
of  it.  If  they  should  cite  the  whole,  it  would  be 
seen  that  the  text  has  no  more  to  do  with  the 
withholding  of  God's  word  from  the  people  than 
the  first  verse  of  Genesis  has.  In  other  words, 
they  garble  the  text  so  as  to  make  it  seem  to 
10 


110  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

favor  their  notions.  This  is  the  great  foundation 
of  their  fearful  prohibition  to  read  the  Scriptures. 
God  says,  that  if  a  man  is  so  wicked  and  conten- 
tious, that  if  you  have  sought  every  way  to  be  re- 
conciled to  him,  and  all  the  prescribed  measures 
have  failed,  then  you  must  esteem  him  no  longer 
as  a  brother  in  the  Lord.  This  is  the  fair,  the 
entire  logical  sense  of  the  passage.  The  doctrine 
of  Rome,  drawn  from  it,  is  that  the  people  must 
not  read  the  Scriptures  ! 

The  other  passage  most  commonly  quoted  by 
Papists  on  this  subject,  and  referred  to  in  the 
Admonition,  is  that  found  in  2  Pet.  iii.  16,  where 
Peter  speaking  of  Paul's  epistles,  says,  that  in 
them  "  are  some  things  hard  to  be  understood, 
which  the  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest,  as  also 
the  other  Scriptures,  to  their  own  perdition." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  perverting  Scripture  is 
a  very  dangerous  practice.  It  leads  to  perdition. 
Nor  is  it  denied  that  there  are  in  Paul's  writings 
and  in  other  Scriptures  also,  some  things  hard  to 
be  understood.  But  if  a  lesson  is  hard  and  a 
subject  difficult,  that  is  one  reason  why  we  should 
study  it  the  more  profoundly  and  humbly,  looking 
to  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  illumination 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

But  Peter  does  not  say  that  every  thing  Paul 
says  is  "hard  to  be  understood."     He  expressly 


CONDEMNED    BY    ANTIQUITY.  Ill 

limits  his  remark.  Why  not  let  the  people  have 
at  least  all  except  these  "  some  things  hard  to  be 
understood  ?"  Nor  does  he  say  that  the  people 
of  honest  minds,  anxious  to  know  God's  will,  are 
likely  to  be  misled  ;  but  he  expressly  confines  his 
remark  to  the  unlearned  and  the  unstable.  Yet 
even  to  them,  Paul's  epistles  are  harmless,  until 
they  "  wrest "  or  pervert  them. 

But  if  Peter  had  wished  to  discourage  the  read- 
ing of  Scripture,  what  a  chance  he  here  had  to 
say  so.  Instead  of  that,  he  says  in  the  very  next 
verse  but  one,  "  Increase  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ."  Peter,  no  doubt,  well  agreed  with  Paul 
that  "all  Scripture  divinely  inspired,  is  profitable 
to  teach,  to  reprove,  to  correct,  to  instruct  in 
justice."  These  apostles  never  disagreed  as  to 
the  excellence  of  God's  blessed  word.  Even 
Rome  does  not  pretend  that  there  was  any  differ- 
ence between  them  on  this  vital  matter. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONCLUSION.  ADDRESS  TO  ROMISH  PRIESTS,  TO  PRI- 
VATE MEMBERS  OF  THE  ROMISH  CHURCH,  AND  TO 
PROTESTANTS. 

I  close  this  discussion  by  an  address  to  several 
distinct  classes  of  persons  ;  wishing  to  each  all  the 
blessings  and  mercies  of  the  covenant  of  peace, 
and  an  interest  in  the  adorable  Redeemer. 

1.  To  Priests  of  the  church  of  Rome. 

Friends :  You  and  your  people,  you  and  your 
opposers,  are  passing  rapidly  to  the  bar  of  the 
unerring  Judge,  to  whom  we  must  all  give  ac- 
count for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  Robes  of 
office  will  then  be  laid  aside.  Exclusive  privileges 
will  shield  no  one  there.  Of  all  the  examinations 
and  sentences,  none  will  be  more  fearful  than 
those  of  religious  teachers  who  have  been  unfaith- 
ful to  Christ  and  his  truth.  Should  you,  in  that 
great  day,  meet  one  soul  that  had  failed  of  salva- 
tion because  of  your  corrupt  teachings,  or  your 
sinful  withholding  of  the  Scriptures,  how  dreadful 
will  be  your  reflections ! 
(1U\ 


CONCLUDING    ADDRESS.  113 

In  your  own  Bible  it  is  written  that,  "  whoso- 
ever shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments, 
and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  the 
least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Matt.  v.  19.  In 
your  own  Bible  I  read,  "  If  any  man  shall  add  to 
these  things,  God  shall  add  upon  him  the  plagues 
written  in  this  book.  And  if  any  man  shall  take 
away  from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy, 
God  shall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of 
life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and  from  these 
things  which  are  written  in  this  book."  Apoca- 
lypse, xxii.  18-19. 

Men  can  assume  no  higher  responsibility  than 
by  perverting,  denying  or  withholding  from  the 
people  the  Holy  Scriptures.  By  his  prophets,  by 
his  Son,  and  by  his  apostles,  God  has  spoken  to 
all  classes  of  men,  rulers  and  ruled,  ministers  and 
people,  husbands  and  wives,  fathers  and  sons, 
mothers  and  daughters,  masters  and  servants,  rich 
and  poor,  old  and  young.  Can  it  be  safe  for  you 
to  step  forward,  and  say  to  the  people  that  they 
shall  not  hear  Jehovah  speak,  though  they  may 
hear  you  ?  If  the  Pope  sends  out  any  writing, 
any  man  may  buy  and  read  it ;  but  if  the  King 
Eternal,  immortal  and  invisible,  who  made  man, 
and  knows  his  sins,  and  sorrows,  and  wants,  in- 
spires men  to  write  his  will  and  laws,  his  promises 
and  threatenings,  who  are  you,  that  you  should 
10* 


114  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

withstand  God  by  saying  that  your  fellow-men 
must  not  read  the  writing,  unless  one  of  your 
number,  as  fallible  and  as  sinful  as  themselves, 
shall  deign  to  give  permission,  and  that  too  "in 
writing  V 

By  your  own  Bible  it  appears  that  Timothy 
might  know  the  Scriptures  "  from  infancy."  But 
who  was  Timothy  ?  He  was  no  prodigy ;  he  was 
no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  He  was  the 
son  of  the  pious  Eunice,  and  the  grandson  of  the 
pious  Lois.  If  these  handmaids  of  the  Lord 
might  instruct  their  little  boy  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, why  may  not  every  man's  child  have  his 
mind  stored  with  the  very  words  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  ?  In  his  word  God  often  addresses  child- 
ren, and  says  many  things  not  a  whit  above  their 
capacities.  If  any  doubt  this  statement,  let  child- 
ren be  tried,  let  them  read  the  Bible,  and  you 
will  see  how  their  minds  will  go  eagerly  to  work, 
and  what  questions  they  will  ask.  It  is  in  the 
knowledge  of  many  great  and  good  men,  that  the 
impressions  which  they  received  early  in  life,  from 
reading  the  history  of  Joseph,  of  David,  and  of 
Christ,  were  as  just  and  as  salutary,  though  not 
as  adequate,  as  those  of  riper  years. 

But  if  you  will  not  feed  the  lambs,  why  will 
you  not  feed  the  sheep  ?  Take  up  the  language 
of  Christ,  and  say  to  all  your  hearers,  "  Search 


CONCLUDING    ADDRESS.  115 

the  Scriptures."  Are  there  not  among  your  hear- 
ers many  hungry  souls,  to  whom  God's  Word 
would  be  the  bread  of  life  ;  and  who,  on  reading 
the  Scriptures,  would  say,  as  one  of  old,  "  How 
sweet  are  thy  words  to  my  palate !  more  than 
honey  to  my  mouth.  By  thy  commandments  I 
have  had  understanding :  therefore  have  I  hated 
every  way  of  iniquity."  Doway  Bible,  Ps.  118, 
(English  Bible,  119,)  103,  104.  If  some  parts  of 
God's  Word  are  mysteries,  others,  and  those  of 
the  highest  importance,  are  plain.  "  He  that 
readeth  it  may  run  over  it."  "  Fools  shall  not 
err  therein."  One  of  your  popes,  a  thousand 
years  ago,  said  :  "In  the  Scriptures  are  shallows 
where  a  lamb  may  wade,  and  depths  where  an 
elephant  may  swim."  And  Pope  Pius  the  Sixth 
said  to  Martini,  respecting  his  translation  into 
Italian  :  "You  judge  exceedingly  well,  that  the 
faithful  should  be  excited  to  the  reading  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  ;  for  these  are  the  most  abundant 
sources  which  ought  to  be  left  open  to  every  one, 
to  draw  from  them  purity  of  morals  and  of  doc- 
trine, to  eradicate  the  errors  which  are  so  widely 
disseminated  in  these  corrupt  times."  This  was 
the  doctrine  of  that  Pope  in  "the  calends  of 
April,  m8."  And  Clement  XIV.,  better  known 
to  the  literary  world  as  Ganganelli,  goes  so  far  as 
to  say,  that  "  the  Gospels  contain  the  religion  of 


116  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

Christ,  and  are  so  plain  that  the  meanest  capacity 
can  comprehend  them." 

If  the  Gospels  are  so  plain,  why  will  you  not 
grant  unrestricted  access  to  them  ?  Why  will  you 
not  circulate  them  ?  The  promises  and  invita- 
tions of  God's  word  are  almost  all  plain.  Those 
relatiug  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  are  peculiarly 
so.  The  moral  law  is  very  clear.  Every  honest 
man  may  know  the  correct  rule  of  living,  if  he  has 
the  Scriptures.  The  threatenings  of  God-  are 
very  plain  and  pungent.  Many  of  them  are  rather 
weakened  than  strengthened  by  explanations. 
From  God's  word  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  we 
must  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  the 
heart,  or  be  rejected  at  last,  that  we  must  truly 
repent  of  all  sin  or  perish,  that  we  must  love  God 
and  keep  his  commandments,  or  lie  down  in 
sorrow. 

Your  Bible,  like  our  own,  says :  "  Follow 
peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."  Heb.  xii.  14.  Your 
Bible  as  well  as  ours,  says  :  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory  but  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ :  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  to  me, 
and  I  to  the  world.  *  For  in  Christ  Jesus,  neither 
circumcision  availeth  anything,  nor  uncircum- 
cision,  but  a  new  creature."  Gal.  vi.  15,  16.  Let 
these  and  other  kindred  truths  come  to  all  your 


CONCLUDING    ApDRESS.  117 

people  in  the  written  word.  Labor  and  pray  that 
all  under  your  charge  "  may  be  filled  with  the 
knowledge  of  his  will,  in  all  wisdom,  and  spiritual 
understanding  ;  that  they  may  walk  in  all  things 
pleasing ;  being  fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and 
increasing  in  the  knowledge  of  God ;  strengthened 
with  all  might,  according  to  the  power  of  his 
glory,  in  all  patience  and  long-suffering,  with  joy." 
Col.  i.  9,  11. 

Stand  aside,  ye  mortals  !  yea,  retreat  into  your 
own  littleness,  and  let  Jehovah  speak  to  his  crea- 
tures ;  let  him  warn,  instruct,  reprove,  command, 
comfort,  invite  and  encourage  in  the  very  words 
which  he  has  chosen,  "not  in  the  learned  words 
of  human  wisdom,  but  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Spirit."    1  Cor.  ii.  13. 

I  am  the  more  impelled  to  urge  this  matter  be- 
cause I  read  in  your  own  Bible,  these  blessed 
words :  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say :  Come, 
and  he  that  heareth,  let  him  say  :  Come,  and  he 
that  thirsteth,  let  him  come  :  and  he  that  will, 
let  him  take  the  water  of  life,  gratis."  Apoca- 
lypse, xxii.  17. 

One  of  your  own  number,  Archbishop  Hughes, 
of  New  York,  lately  scouted  the  idea  that  "the 
Jesuits,  the  Pope,  and  the  members  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  throughout  the  world,  have  a  mortal 
dread  of  the  Bible."     He  says  :  "This  would  be 


118  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

strange,  indeed;"  and  adds,  that  "the  Church 
availed  herself  with  eagerness,  of  the  art  of  print- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  multiplying  copies  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures."  Now  if  this  is  so,,  and  if  you 
are  of  the  same  mind,  you  will,  of  course,  do  all 
you  can  to  get  God's  word  among  the  people. 
Ask  the  world  for  money  to  print  Bibles,  and  you 
will  as  surely  get  it  as  you  are  believed  to  be 
sincere.  But,  until  you  do  this,  your  leader  of 
New  York  will  in  vain,  say  :  "  It  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  our  Protestant  neighbors  will  persist  in 
supposing  that  we  are  afraid  of  our  original  and 
hereditary  documents  that  have  never  been  out  of 
our  possession  ?"  The  proper  reply  is,  that  there 
is  nothing  surprising  about  it,  except  that  men 
will  stand  aloof  from  spreading  so  good  a  book, 
and  then  express  surprise  that  others  should  think 
them  afraid  of  that  book. 

Those  of  you,  who  are  Jesuits,  know  very  well 
that  this  is  one  of  your  rules  :  "  Those  that  are 
admitted  to  do  the  particular  offices  of  the  house 
must  not  learn  either  to  read  or  write ;  or,  if  they 
know  anything,  they  must  not  learn  any  more. 
And  no  man  must  teach  them  without  leave  of 
the  general ;  but  it  shall  be  sufficient  for  them  to 
serve  Christ  our  Lord,  in  holy  simplicity  and 
humility."  How  dare  you  thus  perpetuate  igno- 
rance in  your  own  houses  ?     How  can  you  thus 


CONCLUDING    ADDRESS.  119 

act,  and  then  set  up  for  teachers  of  the  rest  of 
mankind?  Are  ignorance  and  simplicity  the 
same  thing  in  your  esteem  ? 

2.  To  private  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church. 

You  will  not,  I  trust,  forget  these  words  found 
in  your  own  Bible  :  "  Every  one  shall  bear  his 
own  burden."  Gal.  vi.  5.  Again  :  "Every  one 
of  us  shall  render  account  for  himself  to  God." 
Rom.  xiv.  12.  I  know  indeed  that  your  Priests 
are  in  the  habit  of  saying  to  you  that  if  you  will 
obey  them,  they  will  answer  for  you  in  the  last 
day ;  but  I  know  that  they  and  every  other  man 
will  have  to  answer  for  himself.  You  cannot 
send  a  substitute  to  that  war.  "We  shall  all 
stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ."  Rom. 
xiv.  10.  You  cannot  divest  yourselves,  no  crea- 
ture can  divest  you  of  your  individual  accounta- 
bility to  God. 

Your  own  Bible  also  says :  "  Brethren  do  not 
become  children  in  sense ;  but  in  malice  be 
children;  and  in  sense  be  perfect."  1  Cor.  xiv. 
20.  The  plain  meaning  of  this  is  clear  :  "  Breth- 
ren, be  not  children  in  understanding :  howbeit, 
in  malice  be  ye  children,  but  in  understanding  be 
men."  The  verse  just  quoted  is  clearly  parallel  to 
that  in  1  Cor.  x.  15,  where  Paul  says  :  "  I  speak  as 
to  wise  men  :  judge  ye  yourselvse  what  I  say." 


120  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

In  God's  blessed  word  you  have  the  key  to  the 
saving  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ.  Take  it, 
and  unlock  the  store-house  of  Heaven's  richest, 
choicest  mercies,  and  make  them  yours.  They  are 
offered  to  you  by  the  Lord.  Use  your  faculties 
with  zeal  and  diligence  in  learning  God's  will. 
Lift  up  your  voice  for  understanding.  Cry  after 
knowledge.  Be  in  good  earnest.  Your  great 
Doctor,  Peter  Dens,  quotes  from  the  9th  Homily 
of  Chrysostom  on  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians 
this  excellent  advice :  "  Hear,  I  beseech  you, 
ye  laymen,  all  of  you  get  Bibles  for  yourselves,  as 
medicine  for  the  soul."  Oh  that  you  would  fol- 
low this  advice. 

Well  does  Dr.  Manning  in  his  Moral  Enter- 
tainments say :  "  The  answer  of  Christ  to  the 
young  man  who  wished  to  know  from  him  the 
way  of  salvation,  saying,  '  How  readest  thou  V 
teaches  us  that  if  we  will  be  rightly  instructed, 
we  must  go  to  the  divinely  inspired  writings. 
The  Gospel  is  that,  which  we  must  follow ;  by  it 
we  must  be  judged,  and  by  it  stand  or  fall  in  that 
day  ;  and  happy  is  he  that  shall  be  found  able  to 
meet  that  awful  question  of  the  great  Judge, 
1  How  readest  thou  V  " 

Your  position  in  a  land  of  religious  liberty  and 
spiritual  privileges  cannot  be  divested  of  the 
deepest  solemnity.     You  may  avoid  reflection  and 


CONCLUDING    ADDRESS.  121 

action  respecting  your  soul's  affairs,  and  leave  the 
matter  to  the  care  of  the  Priest;  but  this  will 
not  avail  in  the  last  day.  He,  who  shall  at  last 
decide  your  destiny,  has  already  told  you  that  he 
will  not  hold  any  one  innocent  that  slights  the 
Scriptures  :  "  He  that  despiseth  me,  and  receiveth 
not  my  words  hath  one  that  judgeth  him.  The 
word  that  I  have  spoken,  the  same  shall  judge 
him  in  the  last  day."     John  xii.  48. 

God  has  put  you  in  a  land  full  of  open  Bibles. 
Here  "  the  word  of  God  is  not  bound"  by  legal 
enactment.  It  is  free,  it  is  accessible  to  all.  Take 
and  read,  search  and  meditate  upon  it.  Nothing 
can  be  of  so  great  value  to  you  and  your  children 
as  the  life-giving  truths  of  the  Gospel. 

If  you  should  not  understand  any  passage  of 
Scripture,  you  may  ask  others  for  their  views. 
Only  you  must  judge  whether  they  prove  their 
opinion  to  be  scriptural.  Philip  did  not  take  the 
Bible  from  the  Ethiopian,  nor  chide  him  for  pry- 
ing into  the  meaning  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  but 
like  a  good  minister  "  beginning  at  that  scripture 
preached  to  him  Jesus." 

And  if  you  should  be  still  in  doubt,  cry  to  God 
for  the  illumination  of  his  Spirit.  Your  own 
Bible  gives  you  the  example  of  pious  David  in 
such  a  case:  "Open  thou  my  eyes:  and  I  will 
consider  the  wondrous  things  of  thy  law. "  "  Give 
11 


122  ROUE    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

me  understanding,  and  I  will  search  thy  law  ;  and 
I  will  keep  it  with  my  whole  heart."  Ps.  cxviii. 
[King  James'  Bible  cxix.]  18,  34.  That  blessed 
apostle,  James,  according  to  your  own  translation 
says :  "  If  any  of  you  want  wisdom,  let  him  ask 
of  God,  who  giveth  to  all  abundantly,  and  up- 
braideth  not :  and  it  shall  be  given  him."  James 
i-  5.  The  same  apostle  says :  "  The  continual 
prayer  of  a  just  man  availeth  much."  James 
v.  IT. 

By  leaving  some  things  dark  and  mysterious, 
God  may  for  a  long  time  test  your  submission 
and  docility.  Even  to  your  doctors  many  things 
in  the  Bible  are  dark.  Not  one  of  them  pretends 
to  tell  who  is  meant  by  the  beast,  whose  "  number 
is  six  hundred  and  sixty-six."  See  Apoc.  xiii. 
18.  At  least  all  the  light  found  in  the  notes  of 
the  Doway  Bible  is  simply  this  :  "  The  numeral 
letters  of  his  name  shall  make  up  this  number." 
To  those  who  are  well  disposed  it  is  often  useful  to 
be  tried.  Our  Heavenly  Father  proves  us  by  con- 
cealing some  things  from  us  for  a  time.  It  is  so 
in  all  science.  At  first  many  things  are  dark. 
But  even  at  last  some  things  are  mysterious. 
The  stars  do  not  all  shine  with  equal  splendor ; 
neither  do  the  truths  of  God.  But  let  none  be 
offended  at  this.  Enough  is  plain  to  keep  us  fully 
occupied,  and  to  lead  us  to  God. 


CONCLUDING   ADDRESS.  123 

I  beseech  you  therefore  to  treasure  up  in  your 
hearts  the  very  words  of  God.  Give  ear  to  the 
gracious  calls  of  Christ  Jesus  :  "  Come  unto  me 
all  you  that  labor,  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 
I  will  refresh  you.  Take  up  my  yoke  upon 
you,  and  learn  of  me,  because  I  am  meek  and 
humble  of  heart :  and  you  shall  find  rest  to  your 
souls.  For  my  yoke  is  sweet,  and  my  burden 
light."  Matt.  xi.  28-30.  "Him  that  cometh 
to  me  I  will  not  cast  out."  John  vi.  31.  "  The 
Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost."  Luke  xix.  10.  "Behold,  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock :  if  any  man  shall 
hear  my  voice,  and  open  to  me  the  gate,  I  will 
come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he 
with  me."     Apoc.  iii.  20. 

Do  you  wish  to  know  the  way  of  life,  and  ask 
like  the  Jailor  at  Philippi,  "  What  must  I  do  that 
I  may  be  saved  ?"  You  have  the  answer  of  in- 
spired men :  "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus :  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house."  Acts  xvi. 
29,  30.  If  you  would  see  how  fully  and  kindly 
God  invites  men  to  be  saved,  listen  to  his  words  : 
"All  you  that  thirst,  come  to  the  waters:  and 
you  that  have  no  money,  make  haste,  buy  and 
eat :  come  ye,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money, ' 
and  without  any  price.  .  .  .  Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  he  may  be  found :  call  upon  him  while  he 


124  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

is  near.  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unjust  man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return  to 
the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  on  him,  and 
to  our  God :  for  he  is  bountiful  to  forgive.  Is. 
lv.  1,  6,  1. 

And  be  not  satisfied  with  having  the  word  of 
God  yourself.  It  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  every 
man  to  make  known  the  will  of  God  to  others. 
Your  own  Bible  makes  it  your  duty  not  only  to 
"work  your  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling," 
but  also  to  do  good  to  others  by  "  holding  forth 
the  word  of  life."     Phil.  ii.  12,  16. 

3.  To  Protestants : 

You  enjoy,  without  restriction,  from  church  or 
state,  from  priest  or  magistrate,  free  access  to 
God's  Holy  Word.  If  you  slight  or  despise  that 
sacred  treasure,  you  do  it  at  your  peril.  "  To 
whomsoever  much  is  given,  of  him  shall  be  much 
required."  Luke  xii.  48.  By  many  solemn  and 
tender  obligations  you  are  bound  to  know  the 
truth,  to  love  it,  to  live  according  to  it,  and  to 
bring  others  to  do  the  same.  Let  your  light 
shine.  Glorify  God  with  all  your  powers,  and 
submit  yourselves  to  his  statutes  and  ordinances 
forever.  Remember  that  an  open  Bible,  not 
loved,  not  believed,  not  practised,  will  at  last  but 
flash  damnation  in  your  consciences. 

God's  word  is  not  an  amulet.     It  possesses  no 


CONCLUDING    ADDRESS.  125 

power  to  save  those  who  will  not  obey  it.  If  you 
shall  refuse  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
your  destruction  will  .  be  both  inevitable  and 
dreadful.  "  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect 
so  great  salvation  ;  which  at  the  first  began  to  be 
spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto  us 
by  them  that  heard  him."  Heb.  ii.  3.  "He 
that  despised  Moses'  law,  died  without  mercy, 
under  two  or  three  witnesses  :  of  how  much  sorer 
punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he  be  thought  wor- 
thy, who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God, 
and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant, 
wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  and 
hath  done  despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace."  Heb. 
x.  28,  29.  If  you  despise  the  teachings  of  that 
Saviour,  whose  sermons  you  are  freely  permitted 
to  read,  it  had  been  good  for  you  if  you  had  never 
been  born.  "  He  that  is  wise  shall  be  wise  for 
himself." 

And  be  not  satisfied  to  go  alone  to  heaven,  but 
persuade  others  to  join  your  pious  march. 
Wherever  they  are  destitute  supply  them  with  the 
word  of  God.  Persuade  them  to  read  it  for  them- 
selves. Do  all  in  your  power  to  disseminate  the 
Scriptures.  You  know  what  your  Bible  says  in 
Isaiah  lv.  10,  11.  The  Doway  translation  of 
that  passage  is  this  :  "  As  the  rain  and  the  snow 
come  down  from  heaven,  and  return  not  thither, 
11* 


126  ROME    AGAINST    THE    BIBLE. 

but  soak  the  earth,  and  water  it,  and  make  it  to 
spring,  and  give  seed  to  the  sower,  and  bread  to 
the  eater :  so  shall  my  word  be,  which  shall  go 
forth  from  my  mouth  :  it  shall  not  return  to  me 
void,  but  it  shall  do  whatsoever  I  please,  and 
shall  prosper  in  the  things  for  which  I  sent  it." 

Let  nothing  discourage  you.  If  One  rejects 
the  truth,  another  will  receive  it.  God's  word  is 
quick  and  powerful.  It  is  sharper  than  a  two- 
edged  sword.  "  Are  not  my  words  as  a  fire,  saith 
the  Lord :  and  as  a  hammer  that  breaketh  the 
rock  in  pieces  ?"  Jer.  xxiii.  29.  "  In  the  morn- 
ing sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not 
thy  hand :  for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall 
prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both 
shall  be  alike  good."     Ecc.  xi.  6. 

In  particular  God  has  in  his  wonderful  provi- 
dence, opened  a  wide  door  of  usefulness  to  you  in 
the  Bible  Society,  the  history  of  which  institution 
has  been  marked  by  many  infallible  tokens  of  di- 
vine favor.  It  has  multiplied  the  copies  of  God's 
Word  at  least  five-fold  beyond  what  they  were 
before.  It  has  been  a  bond  of  union  among  thou- 
sands of  good  men.  It  has  greatly  increased  the 
demand  for  the  Scriptures,  and  so  has  enlisted 
private  capital  and  private  enterprise  in  the  work 
of  spreading  the  Word  of  God. 

And  it  is  the  very  best  book  you  could  circu- 


CONCLUDING    ADDRESS.  127 

late  to  destroy  the  power  of  the  Man  of  Sin.  A 
great  statesman  well  said  :  "  The  New  Testament 
is  the  best  book  ever  written  against  Popery." 
t  pours  floods  of  light  on  the  benighted  and  su- 
perstitious. It  teaches  all  persons  to  call  no  man 
master.  If  you  would  pour  balm  into  wounded 
consciences  and  tortured  spirits,  send  abroad 
God's  Word.  It  speaks  words  of  unspeakable 
comfort  to  all  the  penitent.  It  reveals  ample  re- 
wards to  suffering  virtue.  It  converts  the  soul. 
It  purines  the  heart.  It  is  its  own  witness.  It 
is  no  cunningly  devised  fable. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  said  :  "I  find  more  marks  of 
authenticity  in  the  Bible  than  in  any  profane  his- 
tory whatever."  And  even  Infidelity  has  often 
been  compelled  to  pay  the  tribute  of  profound 
respect  to  the  system  of  truths  taught  in  God's 
word.  Bolinbroke  said:  "  No  religion  ever  ap- 
peared in  the  world,  whose  natural  tendency  was 
so  much  directed  to  promote  the  peace  and  happi- 
ness of  mankind,  as  Christianity."  "  The  Gospel 
is,  in  all  cases,  one  continued  lesson  of  the  strictest 
morality,  of  justice  and  benevolence,  and  of  uni- 
versal charity."  "The  system  of  religion  which 
Christ  published,  and  his  evangelists  recorded,  is 
a  complete  system  to  all  the  purposes  of  religion, 
natural  and  revealed.  It  contains  all  the  duties 
of  the  former,  it  enforces  them  by  asserting  the 


128  ROME    AGAINST   THE    BIBLE. 

divine  mission  of  the  publisher,  who  proved  his 
assertion  at  the  same  time  by  his  miracles." 
Scores  of  infidels  have  confessed  as  much.  Even 
Paine  says  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  "  he  was  a  virtu- 
ous and  amiable  man.  The  morality  he  preached 
and  practised  was  of  the  most  benevolent  kind." 

But  the  Bible  still  evinces  its  heavenly  origin  by 
its  supernatural  effects.  It  proves  every  day  that 
it  came  from  God.  If  all  mankind,  except  a  thou- 
sand, were  raving  infidels,  scowling  at  all  that  is  sa- 
cred and  benevolent,  and  that  thousand  were  meek, 
gentle,  humble,  penitent  believers,  there  would 
be  ample  proof  in  the  case  of  each  of  their  num- 
ber, that  the  Gospel  was  still  the  wisdom  of  God 
and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  God  has 
never  made  the  Gospel  more  efficacious  in  reclaim- 
ing the  wandering,  in  purifying  the  vile,  in  con- 
verting the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways,  than 
within  the  last  century.  In  disseminating  this 
book,  you  do  not  beat  the  air,  you  run  not  as  un- 
certainly. 

Above  all  things,  let  each  one  of  you  make  sure 
work  for  eternity  for  his  own  soul.  Be  not 
merely  speculative  believers,  but  reduce  all  to 
practice.  Live  according  to  the  precepts  of 
Holy  Scripture ;  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son 
of  God ;  live  to  the  glory  of  Him  that  bought  you 
with  his  blood.     Then  when  your  life  shall  all  be 


CONCLUDING    ADDRESS.  129 

spent,  and  you  shall  enter  the  invisible  state,  no- 
thing that  occurred  on  earth  will  give  you  more 
unfeigned  delight,  than  any  part  you  may  have 
had  in  building  up  that  kingdom,  which  is  right- 
eousness and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 


THE  END. 


DATE  DUE 


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GAYLORD 

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